


Legacy

by Witch_Nova221



Series: Hunted Through Time [2]
Category: Doctor Who
Genre: F/M, Ghosts, Haunting, Romance, Supernatural Elements, Underworld
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-29
Updated: 2016-01-29
Packaged: 2018-05-17 01:06:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 17
Words: 86,864
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5847913
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Witch_Nova221/pseuds/Witch_Nova221
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Part two of the Hunted Through Time series. After releasing Grace to the 'Other Side' the Doctor and Rose discover she did not reach the happy ending that she wished for. Called upon to face the trials of the Underworld they are forced to confront their worst fears as the Doctor realises a secret from his past isn't true and someone he thought long dead returns to his life in the power of an ancient enemy.</p>
<p>First posted in 2006 and not edited prior to republication.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Approaching Storm

"You can be so melodramatic at times," said Rose as the first rain drop fell onto her nose, "You had me worried for a second with that 'can't you feel it' talk."

The Doctor flashed her one of his trademark boyish grins, the light wind ruffling up his hair as he turned his face back up to the fireworks going off above his head, "Well I like to keep you on your toes," he said slipping his hand from hers to wrap around her waist, "And its true in a way, we shouldn't say that we'll never ever get split up, there are so many things in this universe that could do that Rose."

"Yeah but we'd fight everyone of them," said Rose resting her head on his shoulder, "It's a shame its raining, kinda put a dampener on the opening ceremony."

"It'll only be a shower," said the Doctor, "Now how about you and me head home for the night, we've got a busy day tomorrow, the shot put is at eleven and then there's…"

"Is it true what you said about Papua New Guinea?"

The Doctor smiled down at her, bring his face within an inch of hers, smiling lightly as she unconsciously licked her lips in anticipation, "Wait. And. See," he said softly before giving in to temptation and placing a gentle kiss against her lips, "Come on then, home again. Gotta see the TARDIS is alright after its little trip to the world of 'Two Dee' with me earlier. Was strange being a drawing actually, kinda like being run over by a steam roller…not that I'd know what it feels like to be run over by a steam roller but…"

Rose laughed to herself as he continued to babble, leading them away from Dame Kelly Holmes Close and the nightmare day it had given them. The street was happy and joyful but despite the rise in temperature since the Isolas had left the planet Rose still felt a chill go through her. She looked up at the Doctor, barely noticing that he was still rattling on at two hundred miles an hour and frowned. Perhaps he was right, never ever were dangerous words.

XXXX

The creak of the bed caused Rose to open her eyes slightly, blinking in the darkness as she tried to focus on the clock on the dresser beside her. She gave up trying to figure out the numbers, knowing it was some ridiculously early hour as the TARDIS hadn't even begun to lift the artificial night she always gave them; a trick more sympathetic to Rose's needs than the Doctor's. She groaned and closed her eyes once again, burrowing back into the pillows and pulling the heavy duvet tighter around her shoulders. Sleep began to touch once again at her consciousness but the sigh from the body beside her woke her once more. She rolled her eyes, turning back to the pillow but the bed shifted again and another dramatic sigh left the restless Time Lord at her side.

With a huff she rolled over to face him, still feeling her heart flutter as she took him in even after more than six months as his lover. She loved how their relationship had changed since the night of reading Shakespeare to one another outside a haunted house in the Lake District. Beneath the Time Lord uniform of brown pinstripes and cheeky 'know-it-all' façade, Rose had found the Gallifreyan man he had kept hidden for many years, even before the destruction of his home world. He was still The Doctor; he needed no other name in her opinion, and could still be very alien and superior but in the quiet of the night when they were alone he let the defences drop, leaving him vulnerable and beautiful.

At this point in the night however Rose felt nothing but the urge to poke him and tell him to shut up. The Doctor had kicked off the covers, revealing to the night his now favourite black and white checked pyjamas that Jackie had given him as an Easter gift. Rose still cringed at them but to love a Time Lord was to love his eccentricities as she had found out in recent months as he opened up more about his past and her friendship with Sarah-Jane had revealed some of his former incarnations' fashion mishaps. The Doctor's brow was furrowed in exasperation as he squeezed his eyes shut and shifted on the bed once more.

"What's the matter?" said Rose stifling a yawn with the back of her hand, "You've been tossing and turning for hours."

"Can't sleep," came the strained reply beside her.

"Go fiddle with the TARDIS then," said Rose, "That's what you usually do, you don't need to stay here because of me. Get the bed to myself and can spread out when you go off."

"You spread yourself out anyway. How anyone so small can take up so much space is beyond me," said the Doctor finally opening his eyes and rolling onto his side to face her, "Its not that I'm not tired, I do want to sleep its just…"

Rose frowned at the odd expression that crossed his face. She reached out a hand to his cheek in the darkness, "What is it?"

"I keep dreaming," said the Doctor, "Every time I go to sleep and I just wake up again."

Rose shifted closer to him and snaked an arm around his shoulders, encouraging him to rest his head on her shoulder, "Gallifrey?" she said softly, knowing the nightmares that haunted him still, "You've not dreamed about them in ages."

"These dreams are different," said the Doctor, his hand bunching around the material of her pyjama top, "They're not the nightmares I used to have, they're not even nightmares its just…its weird. I'm standing the in the city where I lived when I left my parents' home the first time but when I turn around I'm looking at the house I was born into and my mother's there with my father but he's old like he was when I first left the planet while she's young, she died years before I left. Everything is just silent, so profoundly silent I can't even hear myself breathing. Then things change and there are just all these swirling colours but everything is still silent. I can't work it out but it just repeats whenever I close my eyes."

Rose stroked his arm gently, "Sounds like you need to lay off the marmalade before bed," she said, content to hear a muffled laugh against her shoulder, "Its probably you reacting to today, I mean getting trapped in a child's drawing is a bit weird even for you."

"Oh I don't know, I think I've done worse, getting stuck in the Big Brother house was an experience."

"Knowing your temperament back then I'm surprised they had a set left after five minutes."

"I did blow up a couple of the camera's," said the Doctor proudly, pushing up from Rose's shoulder and looking down at her.

"That's my boy," she said, her tongue poking between her teeth as she smiled, "You know, I could probably make you fall into a contented sleep full of wonderful thoughts."

The Doctor raised an eyebrow, grinning playfully, "You sure you're up to the challenge? I'm wide awake now and I could keep going for hours and hours and hours and hours…"

Rose slipped her arms up around his neck, fussing the soft hair that tumbled down onto her fingers, "Promises, promises," she murmured softly before shrieking in surprise as the Doctor found a particular spot on her neck and began his well practised torture.

XXXX

A week of amazing results and pure relaxation followed and the Doctor had not since mentioned his dreams. Rose watched the cheering Papua New Guinea fans with astonished admiration as the small group of no more than twenty supporters managed to make enough noise to fill the stadium as their shot put team took both Gold and Bronze while Russia looked decidedly displeased with Silver; what would have been their winning shot denied when the athlete's foot went over the line. As the cheers died down she heard the starter pistol for the four hundred metre hurdle final go off and she soon found herself standing up from her chair and cheering on the English team, waving around the novelty hat she had bought on their arrival at the Stadium. She sat down again with a huff as her cheering failed to get the young athlete a place, noticing again what a good idea the Olympic committee had had when they decided to pad the seats.

She smiled as she noticed the Doctor clambering back up the steep steps to their seats, balancing a vast array of refreshments in his gangly arms. She stood to take several of the items off him before frowning down at the bags in her hands.

"Carrot sticks? Apple slices?" she said in disgust, "I sent you for crisps and you come back with this? You trying to say something? Told you we should have gone back for the picnic I made us."

The Doctor rolled his eyes and took the packet of apple slices off her and popping it open, "It wasn't my fault, turns out there's a new government initiative that bans the sale of unhealthy refreshments at public events so eat your carrot sticks and be grateful I didn't buy you the fungus crisps…although fungus can be alright, once defeated some pretty nasty maggots with fungus…"

"Doctor…"

"Hmm?"

"You're putting me off my carrot sticks," said Rose, laughing at the mock hurt that crossed his face, "So don't tell me, the lemonade was out of the question as well; what did you get instead?"

The Doctor smirked and handed her a cardboard cup before sticking a straw into his own and taking a contented drink, "Banana smoothies."

XXXX

"You've got insider info on these games I swear to you," said Rose as she grudgingly handed over a ten pound note to the grinning Time Lord beside her, "I reckon I'm going to bump into one of your old bodies and find out you've seen it all before."

"Can you not refer to them as bodies, I prefer incarnations," said the Doctor, smirking as the woman in front of him turned to him with an odd expression, "I'm the male Madonna, the King of Reinvention."

Rose sniggered as the woman turned around with an even more bemused expression before whispering to the man beside her and getting up to leave. Rose dug the Doctor in the ribs.

"You're terrible, you know that? Doctor…?"

She turned to the man beside her to see his face set in a concentrated stare at the field before them. She looked down but there was nothing apparent save for the staff setting up the next event of the day. She waved her hand in front of his face but even that didn't pull him out of his daydream.

"Oi! Earth to Doctor, there's a Slitheen doing a tango in the back row."

"There's a who doing what now?" said the Doctor turning back to her, the glassy look gone from his big brown eyes.

"Well at least you're only as spaced out as normal now," said Rose, "You totally zoned out a minute ago, fuzzy eyes and everything."

"I thought I saw someone I recognized but it was nothing," said the Doctor with a grin, "Now how about that tenner you owe me?"

Rose gave him a bemused look before taking his third banana smoothie from his hand and giving the content a concerned sniff, "Doctor the javelin finished ten minutes ago, you bet that South Korea would win and then took yet another tenner off me."

"Do you mind not snorting my drink," said the Doctor snatching back the cardboard cup before setting it down at his feet, "And we have not yet settled our bet on the javelin, I think I'd…"

Rose wanted to flash him a triumphant grin as he pulled the latest ten pounds from his pocket but the look of confusion that dulled his handsome features pulled the concerned side of her personality forward. She closed her hand over his and tried to capture his gaze.

"You ok?"

"I can't remember you giving me this," he said not looking up at her, "The last thing I remember is them announcing that South Korea had won and then seeing…"

Rose frowned as she traced what she hoped were comforting patterns on the back of his hand, "I gave you the money and said I would probably run into one of your old bodies and find out you knew what was going on anyway, then you said you prefer incarnations to bodies and scared the woman in front of us that she left, then you just sort of…" she trailed off, mimicking his previous expression before turning her attention back to him, "Perhaps its still a reaction from what happened when we arrived."

"You're probably right," said the Doctor, "This whole stadium is probably buzzing with residual ionic energy after all those people were transported so it probably stands to reason that I would feel it after having so much blasted at me when the Isolas transformed me into a great looking Mickey Mouse."

Rose smirked at his ramble, "Awful lot of probablys in there," she said, "Look, if it is this ionic wotsit how's about we give up on the Olympics here and go to them back in Ancient Greece or something."

The Doctor looked around the stadium they sat in, concentrating briefly on the long jump that had just started and then up to the Olympic torch that he had lit five nights before. He turned back to her with a happy smile and took her hand, "We've seen all the good stuff anyway," he said, "But are you sure about Ancient Greece? Remember what happened in Rome? Plus you'd need to don a beard and get a much deeper voice as women weren't allowed to watch the games, lots of very naked men running about."

"I thought that was Club Med?" said Rose, an eyebrow raised in defiance as she remembered his comment from when they first arrived, "And besides, naked men? Here's hoping you get yourself into trouble and are forced to compete; Mum's been begging me to film some of our adventures and I'm sure you wrestling naked with some toned, Greek Adonis would provide ample amusement for her and Bev on one of their girly nights in."

"I could easily go off you Tyler," said the Doctor grimacing at the thought.

"You couldn't if you tried," said Rose threading her fingers through his, giving his hand a tug, "Come on, we stay here any longer and it might just border on domestic and when I last checked we don't do that."

"We?"

"Yeah," said Rose, giving him the smile she knew always bent him to her will, "The plural of you and me, we, we don't do domestic. We do hurtling through time and space, landing wherever we please, running from baddies and generally having a fantastic time."

Not caring for the bemused crowd around them the Doctor pulled Rose close against him, his hands clutching possessively at her back as he purred in her ear, "You have know idea how much I love you Rose Tyler."

"Yes I do," she said, "Now come on, home. I'm sure there's some planet needs saving or some supernova that requires our undivided attention."

The Doctor took her hand and led her out of the stadium and towards the TARDIS parked just on the outskirts of the Olympics Village. The TARDIS greeted them with a familiar flurry of beeps and the room brightened as if the ship was herself smiling at the couple. Rose ran a hand over the console as the Doctor shot her a grin before beginning his manic dance around the central hub, flicking switches and muttering away to himself in a tongue Rose knew she would never understand. She felt a familiar hitch in the engines and watched in awe as the central column began to rise and descend with its familiar rasping music. She stepped back from the console and gripped on to the support bar, understanding the movements of the ship in flight and knowing exactly when to tighten or relax her grip. With a spin, flurry of fawn coat and the ring of the oddly placed bicycle bell she felt the judder of their landing and turned to the Doctor with a familiar question in her eyes.

Once upon a time she had asked him, in his old form when he had first taken her away, what was outside and he had extended a hand to the door, silent but smiling. Today her eyes asked the question to his new, boyish form but the gesture and smile he gave reminded her that her old Doctor was never far from her side. Instead of running to the door as she had done before she stepped towards him and laid her hand in his upturned palm and his smile changed to one she had never seen on his old form, the smile that told her how much he loved her and that he wasn't scared for her to know it. She knew she wore the same look as he turned his hand to take hers properly and lead her over to the door.

They paused at the door, Rose trying to peer out of the frosted glass of the tiny windows, allowing the excitement of the adventure that awaited them outside to build around them until they both reached a hand out at the same time to pull open the door. They both stepped back as the doors swung inwards, revealing to them the sight outside.

Rose gasped in surprise at the beauty before her eyes, not knowing what she was seeing but letting it take her breath away none-the-less. She felt the familiar force field the TARDIS placed around them whenever they landed in deep space rise around her and thanked God that she had not run outside without checking what was outside; vacuum, however pretty, was never very welcoming.

Before her rocks and dust and every form of glittering matter floated sedately around her, the silence beautiful but deafening. Stars glittered distantly, throwing light on the scene as no sun burned nearby, giving the edges of the larger rocks a glittering midnight blue glow. Great asteroids clashed silently, sending off great swirling tendrils of dust like fireworks on New Years Eve. Rose let out the breath she had been holding and thought herself at the beginning of time. A giant piece of space rock drifted past, dwarfing the TARDIS and allowing Rose to gladly feel her own insignificance. She pondered for a second why none of the flying debris even nicked the TARDIS but she felt the force field warm around her and knew that their ship was keeping them safe as well as herself.

A frown came to her face as she saw something out of place float in their direction, metal rather than the organic matter she saw before her now. A memory stirred at the dimpled surface of the jagged metal and she searched her thoughts for where she had witnessed it before. She felt the hand in hers tighten slightly and heard the sharp intake of breath before the desperate sob at her side. She turned to the Doctor in concern but only felt herself pulled roughly back as the doors were slammed with such ferocity that she thought the Genghis Khan comment may have only been a joke. The doors held and she stared at them in disbelief as the familiar hand left hers and she heard his converse on the metal grates, circling the console, cursing in some ancient language while choking back sobs.

Rose shook off her shock and turned to the Doctor, watching him frantically programming the TARDIS. The lurch of the ship took her off guard and she tumbled to the floor but to her surprise no question of concern came from her companion. She pushed to her feet, furiously brushing herself off.

"Thanks for that! Would you mind telling me what the hell is going on?" she cried, stomping up to the console.

"Why'd you do it?"

"What?"

"Why'd you take me there?"

Rose was about to respond when she realised she was not to one being addressed. She circled the console to the Doctor's side, running a hand up his back and feeling the barely repressed shudders. She expected him to turn to her but it was as if he could not even see her.

"Doctor?"

"Why'd you take me back there?" he shouted, taking the mallet he so often wielded when the TARDIS chose to misbehave and slamming it down onto the console, "Why? That wasn't fair!"

Sparks jumped out from the console, showering both Rose and the Doctor but he didn't stop, smashing the mallet down again on the same spot, still screaming at the protesting ship. More terrified than she had ever been of him Rose backed away from the Doctor but a desperate, pleading beep from the TARDIS sent her back to his side, using all her strength to wrestle the mallet from his grip and fling it halfway across the control room. He began pounding the console top with his fists before slumping to his knees and resting his forehead against the damaged console.

"Why'd you do it girl? Why hurt me like that?" he muttered, still sobbing.

Rose knelt beside him and took his chin in her hand and turning his face towards her, seeing the realisation of her presence register in his eyes when they met her own.

"Rose?"

"Doctor what's wrong? Why did you take us away from there?"

"Oh Rose."

Rose took a moment to react as his arms went around her waist, holding onto her tightly as he buried his face in her shoulder, sobbing inconsolably. She held his shoulders, allowing one hand to travel up into his hair and stroke him; hushing him as she would an infant.

"My darling what's wrong?" she asked softly, "Where was that place?"

"Home," he murmured followed by another bout of sobs, "That was Gallifrey."

"Oh God," said Rose, tightening her grip on his shoulders, "Why'd you take us there? You stupid man why did you take us there?"

"I didn't," said the Doctor, "The TARDIS did."

XXXX

The Doctor's weak smile greeted Rose as she wandered back into the control room, carefully carrying a cup of tea in each hand as she navigated her way down the steps to him. He took one of the cups from her gratefully and drank before grimacing and swapping it for the other.

"Thanks," he said softly before flopping down on the chair, throwing his free arm over his eyes, sighing deeply, "I'm sorry Rose, I didn't want you to have to see me like that, I must have frightened you."

"I was more worried about the TARDIS than myself if I'm honest. Can you fix her?"

The Doctor nodded mournfully, "She's been in a worse state after I've…mourned, so to speak. Its just surface damage. I did hurt her though, I scare myself when I do that."

"You can't help how you reacted to that, I can't even begin to think what must have been going through your head when you saw that. Doctor look at me."

When her kept his arm in place, Rose slipped onto the chair beside him and pulled his arm away from his face, noticing with alarm the red circles under his eyes that still remained from the passed two hours of crying they had both endured. She set her cup on the console before taking his from him and placing it next to her own. She pulled his head down to her shoulder and held him gently, not knowing what words she could use to comfort him. After his initial outburst she had been unable to find anything to say to comfort him, just trying to soothe him with worthless promises; she was there for him, he wasn't alone, it would get better with time, it wasn't his fault that it had happened. It had quieted him enough to allow her to leave him to prepare the tea that she knew would now be forgotten but she had no idea if she would ever see him properly smile again.

"I wish I could say something to make you feel better," she said against his hair, "I wish I could turn back time and never ask you to take us away from the Olympics."

"I think the TARDIS would have done this whenever we left," said the Doctor, "I set her to take us to the Coronation of Henry the Eighth, I wanted to take you to the jousting. Instead we end up…there. All in bits…I didn't even realise where we were until I saw that Dalek casing and then… I used to feel it, a switch in the air, something in my head that told me that I was home but it was all gone…they were all gone…all dead…"

"Hush," murmured Rose, "Don't do this to yourself, please Doctor. Don't hurt yourself like this."

"I just don't know why she did it, to take me there when she knew what it would do to me."

"Perhaps it was a malfunction," said Rose, unable to believe that the TARDIS would willingly cause the Doctor such pain, "Did you check the flight plan?"

The Doctor looked up at her before glancing back over to the monitor that was working away in his own intricate language, "I couldn't make head nor tail of it, I sort of buggered up a few things when I hurt her. I'm running a check on some of the systems now to see if there's a problem. Why there though? I never wanted to…and the paradox it could have caused…I couldn't have been far from there, the particles weren't that dispersed; I must have still been spinning nearby."

"You mean…you, the old you," said Rose, a pain the Doctor had not seen in months returning to her eyes. She sprang from the chair and ran to the console, hopping from foot to foot in agitation, "We've gotta go back, I can't leave you…him on his own, in so much pain."

"Rose…"

"Oh God how much he must be suffering, all on his own…"

"Rosie."

Rose paused as she felt a hand slip into her own. She was easily pulled into his waiting embrace, feeling an aura of strength return to the man she held as his comfort came from soothing her.

"Rose, you know we can't go to…to him. I never met you before that night at Henricks, it would destroy both our time lines to go back. God if I could take you back I would, I needed you so much back then but we can't go back. My presence alone would cause a dreadful paradox and I don't know if I could see him…see myself like that."

"But you're all on your own," said Rose into his jacket and finding a tiny part of her missed the feel of leather against her cheek once more.

"I know," said the Doctor, the catch evident in his voice, "But you know I get better. I left…that place and went to my friend Lethbridge-Stewart's on Earth, he helped me, got me better. I started travelling again and then I met you, my Rose Tyler. You have to…we have to let me get through that time on my own."

Rose's response was halted when a beep echoed from the console beside her. The Doctor's arms loosened around her and she straightened up, releasing him as he turned to the monitor. He began tapping away and muttering again in his own tongue. He gave her a bemused look before turning back to the console. He straightened up and moved to the opposite side of the console, he glanced at the support bar she had gripped onto on their flight to Gallifrey then back at the console. He shook his head and returned to the screen.

"What's the matter?" said Rose, noticing the confusion on his face.

"Someone altered our course, sent us…there."

"How? You and I are…"

"I know."

"But if you and I were the only ones in here then how…?"

"I don't know," said the Doctor, "But someone deliberately changed our course to Gallifrey, someone told the TARDIS to take us there. Question is…"

"Who?" muttered Rose, wrapping her arms around herself as she shuddered in the cavernous room, "And why?"


	2. Shadows in the Darkness

Rose heard the familiar thump of the oxygen generator as it protested against the Doctor's fiddling. It had become his latest obsession, couldn't sleep, go and fiddle with the oxygen generator. It was one of the reasons Rose had secretly swiped one of the small oxygen canisters from the med bay and stashed it in her bedside table, they'd had no accidents as yet but she knew the Doctor and wasn't taking any risks.

She had finally coaxed him to bed and sleep after he'd spent several hours fretting over how the TARDIS had moved on its own with no one else on board. The thought of someone changing their course had soon been dismissed despite the TARDIS' insistence when the scans showed no other life forms present. The Doctor had fallen into an emotionally exhausted sleep barely five minutes after climbing into bed and Rose soon followed him but now she was alone in their room. It didn't surprise her, quite often she'd wake to the familiar noise of his tinkering before it lulled her back to sleep. Tonight however she knew that his tinkering wasn't born out of his waiting for her to wake and more through the pain he was going through. Her old Doctor had tinkered whenever he was upset and she had gone to him with hot chocolate and an open heart to receive all his problems, tonight would be no exception. She slipped out of bed and groped around in the dim light, her hand falling on his long trench coat rather than her own dressing gown. She pulled on the coat, rolling back the sleeves and wrapping her arms around herself as she shuffled her feet into his discarded converse, tucking the laces down the sides to stop her tripping.

More darkness greeted her as she stepped into the corridor and headed towards the console room. The sound of tinkering had ceased and she hurried her steps, worried another bout of tears had taken him or that he'd fallen asleep on the hard grating without anything to keep him warm. She was surprised when she entered the silent and lightless console, the only light being the eerie green glow from the resting central column.

"Doctor," she called softly, somehow feeling the need to whisper, "Doctor are you in here?"

She heard the clang of heavy footfalls on the grating down the corridor and followed the sound. She looked down at her feet and realised wherever he was he was without his shoes and he rarely wore any others. The footfalls before her definitely sounded booted and she began to hurry her steps as she followed them. She turned a corner and found herself in the library, the darkness casting eerie shadows around the high ornate book cases. She heard a rustle of material and walked over to the nearest case.

"Doctor?"

Her breath stilled in her throat as she saw a movement up ahead, black on black, a figure so familiar. She took a tentative step forward and another until she was close enough to raise a hand and lay it on his shoulder. Her hand met the cool leather and her fingers curled into it as she fought the emotions inside her.

"My God its you, Doctor?"

She felt cool fingers reach up to envelop her own and she couldn't help but raise her free hand to her eyes to wipe away her tears. She felt the fingers leave hers and the coolness of the leather was replaced by the warmth of the artificially heated room. Her eyes shot up and she found herself staring at the book lined wall, no one standing before her and no way he would have got passed her.

"Doctor?"

She nearly jumped in alarm as a light behind her illuminated the room with a red, flickering glow.

"Rose?"

She whirled round to be met with concerned brown eyes beneath black rimmed glasses and messy chocolate hair. She took in the pyjama's and dressing gown and then regarded her own appearance.

"You ok?" asked the Doctor, extending a hand to her.

"Yeah," said Rose, relaxing as his cool fingers curled around her own and he drew her to his side, "I was looking for you, what's with the candle?"

The Doctor looked at the slim candle holder in his hand, the light from the flame highlighting his angular features, "Electrics went out when I was working, I went to the bedroom to warn you not to turn anything on and you weren't there. Figured you'd gone walk about when you saw I wasn't there. You usually come to the console room though and I've only just left there."

"I did go to the console room," said Rose, "It was empty, then I…"

Rose trailed off and sighed, resting her head against his shoulder, "I think I was sleep walking," she said, "I thought I saw…the old you, in here. I must have been half asleep."

"This afternoon must have brought up some memories for you too," said the Doctor softly, "Do you fancy helping me sort the electrics out? Don't fancy cold tea in the morning."

"I doubt I'll be much use," said Rose, her spirits lifting as she heard a semblance of his cheeky nature returning to him.

"Sure you will, you hold the candle and I'll change the fuse."

"Are you serious?" said Rose pulling back and raising an eyebrow, "Change a fuse?"

"Yep!"

"Fantastic time machine and the electrics are knackered whenever a fuse blows?"

The Doctor rubbed the back of his neck, his eyes trailing to the floor, "Sort of, yeah? They're very fantastic, futuristic fuses though and…I'm really not selling this am I?"

Rose gave a huff of laughter, "You know what? I think its pretty cool that despite all the confusing stuff you've got under that console of yours, you still have a fuse box."

"Well sometimes the simpler something is the better it is," said the Doctor with a grin, "Probably why I decided to bring you along for the ride."

Rose smiled as the Doctor pressed a kiss to her hair but then she felt his lips curve into a smile and realisation came to her face.

"Wait a minute…"

The Doctor took off down the corridor before she could hit him and she broke into a run to follow him. As she reached the door she stopped, straining her ears in the darkness but shrugging as nothing came to her. She followed the sound of the Doctor's laughter, not able to shake off the eerie feeling that crept up her neck at the memory of what she heard, the deep, northern tones she remembered so fondly, softly murmuring her name.

XXXX

Rose tumbled through the TARDIS doors before being sent crashing into the grates as the Doctor staggered in beside her. She heard him kick the door closed and his ragged breaths as he pulled himself up to his feet and raced to the console. She heard the whirr of the engines and the explosions they had run from faded into nothing. She picked herself up and dusted herself off, frowning at the scorch mark that now marred her favourite denim jacket. They'd come a little too close that time but they had been victorious, felling the dictatorship of Crasnol and saving the innocent Thollians from certain extermination under its sub-particle ray, on something like that, Rose was sure that the Doctor knew what they'd been doing.

She leant on the support beam as the TARDIS settled into the vortex and let her eyes flutter shut. She was sure she had been up for at least thirty hours but she didn't mind. She knew the Doctor's default setting whenever he was upset was to find as much trouble as possible and she would stay beside him until he felt better once more, she just wished her fragile human form wouldn't protest so much to the long hours. She barely noticed the figure move in front of her and startled as she felt the cool hands on her cheeks and the soft kiss on her forehead.

"Forgive me," was the murmur against her hairline, "I've run you ragged haven't I?"

"Mmm s'alright," she managed to mumble, feeling the tiredness seep into her as one hand dropped from her face to rub the tight muscles at the back of her neck, "Where d'you wanna go next?"

She felt the soft butterfly kisses against her skin as they trailed down to her ear.

"Bed," said the Doctor, "You need to sleep."

"But…"

"But nothing, " said the Doctor as he pulled her up against him before lifting her up into his arms, "You're exhausted."

She let herself be carried down the corridor and laid down on the familiar comforter she had brought from London. She lay back against the pillows as the Doctor pulled off her trainers and socks, gently rubbing her feet. Rose hummed gently at the gentle touch, only realising how much they ached when the tension washed from her. His hands left her feet and went to the fastening of her jeans, loosing them before coaxing her to raise her hips so he could slip them off her. Two strong arms supported her as she was raised to sitting and her coat and jumper quickly discarded, leaving her in a vest top and knickers. Rose felt the comforter and duvet pulled out from beneath her and the cool of the sheets brush her skin as she was laid down on them and covered over. She focused on the rustle of clothes and the soft pad of bare feet on the wooden floor before the bed creaked and a slim arm curled around her waist.

"I don't need the adventures," was the soft murmur against her ear, "Right here, right now. This is peace."

"Its always gonna be here," said Rose, her fingers closing over those resting on her stomach, "I promise."

The last thing she felt was the brush of his lips in her hair before sleep claimed her.

XXXX

She found herself on the control deck but everything was upside down. Jack was smiling and she smiled back before being pulled back to standing and held against a firm, warm body. She buried her face in the familiar leather on his shoulder and smiled as she felt him laugh against her.

"Told you I had the moves."

"No arguments here," she said, "By far the best 'dance' I've ever had."

"You haven't seen anything yet Rose Tyler."

"Mmm promises," she murmured against his neck, "I think we're forgetting about someone."

"Ah yes," said the Doctor, pulling back from her with a familiar manic grin, "Right Jack, this is the TARDIS and this for you for the time being is home. Only rules are that you don't bring anyone home and you buy me a drink before trying anything on."

"You're gonna be hard work I know it," said Jack, his handsome features drawing into a dashing smile and Rose felt a little jealousy rising inside her but it was quickly subsided by the Doctor's cool fingers slipping beneath her Union Jack top to caress her skin.

"You have no idea," said Rose, finding enough confidence to raise herself up and press a kiss on the Doctor's cheek, "Come on then Captain Jack, let's find you a room. You coming Doctor?"

"I think you know your way around by now, I've got a few things to do before we move on anyway. Come find me when you're done," said the Doctor, turning to the console and clicking on the sonic screwdriver.

Rose wandered back into the darkened console room, Jack having crashed out as soon as finding a suitable sleeping space. She saw the booted feet sticking out beside the console and walked round to find the Doctor with his head in his hands. Concern immediately filled her and she knelt beside him. 

"Doctor? Doctor what's the matter?" she said.

He raised his head to look at her but it was anger, not remorse that she saw in his stormy blue eyes. He gave a half smile but it filled her with dread as it failed to reach his eyes.

"Bored with your pretty boy already?"

"Oh don't go getting all jealous now," said Rose, "I thought we'd got passed that."

"You expect me to get passed my replacement?"

"Replacement?" said Rose confused, "What on Earth are you talking about?"

"Him, my replacement. I have to say Rose that was very clever back there, open the TARDIS, make me save your worthless ape life."

"I don't understand, what are you talking about? You were fine before I took Jack to his room," said Rose moving to stand but finding herself anchored as his hand held her wrist in a vice like grip.

"Jack," said the Doctor, a touch of sorrow in his voice, "Saw that you got rid of him too didn't you?"

"Doctor…"

"My murderer, did you even cry for me? Truly for me and not for yourself?"

Rose tried to yank her hand away, "Doctor please let me go, you're hurting me."

"You don't know pain, you don't know what pain is until you've had the Vortex burning you inside and seeing that your sacrifice was in vain. You've forgotten me Rose, moved on with that Pretty Boy, you wouldn't even come to me when you knew I needed you."

"You're frightening me, please let me go. You're not like this, you're gentle, you…you love me! Doctor please!"

Rose felt herself pulled roughly to her feet and dragged to the doors, her shoulder nearly dislocating as she stumbled and he yanked her back to her feet. She felt the sobs racking her frame and the pleas for him to stop echoed in the cavernous room. He threw open the TARDIS doors to show the swirling blackness of space, the space were Gallifrey once existed. 

"I did that Rose," said the Doctor pulling her in front of him and holding her at the very edge of the door frame, "I destroyed the whole planet, a whole civilisation, the entire Dalek race, do you believe I can't destroy you too?"

Rose whimpered and gripped onto the leather jacket at her back. He roughly pulled her hands away and pinned them to her sides. She felt her feet moving forward, the force field that so often protected her in deep space nowhere to be found.

"Please," she begged, "Doctor why are you doing this to me?"

"You betrayed me Rose, replaced me," said the Doctor, his whisper low and terrifying against her ear, "You wanted to see Gallifrey Rose Tyler, go see it."

Hands released her arms and pushed hard into the small of her back and she was falling. Rocks and debris sailed passed her in silent terror as she flailed wildly in the vacuum, feeling her lungs constricting and her consciousness slipping from her with every passing second. Then she saw it, in all her terror, the casing of bronze and gold, its deadly weapon directed at her. She heard no sound but the lights atop its domed head let her know its words.

"Exterminate!"

She squeezed her eyes tight and with every last piece of strength in her form, Rose Tyler screamed.

XXXX

The darkness was shattered by the piercing scream causing the Doctor to sit upright, senses on alert and body coiled to run. The scream echoed again and he looked down at the thrashing figure beside him, knotted in the bed clothes and brow soaked with sweat. He reached out a hand to the pale, ivory shoulder and squeezed gently.

"Rose? Rose wake up darling, its just a nightmare," he said, shaking her gently, "You're dreaming, you're safe."

Terrified and confused eyes looked up at him in horror before Rose sat upright in the bed, searching her surroundings and then running desperate hands over her own form as if checking she wasn't injured. The Doctor stilled her hands and turned her face to his, giving her a reassuring smile.

"You're alright," he said, "You were dreaming."

"You…" stuttered Rose, hot tears beginning to rush down her cheeks, "You…Him…"

"Rose calm down, " said the Doctor pulling her into his arms and stroking her hair, "You were dreaming my love, a silly dream that's all."

"He said I murdered him and replaced him, I never meant to. I didn't know, you have to believe me, I didn't know."

"You're not making any sense. Just breathe, calm down. You're perfectly safe, you're in the TARDIS, in our bed, in my arms and no one has plans to harm you and even if they did I wouldn't let them. Now tell me what you dreamed."

Rose quieted against his shoulder, clinging tightly around his waist as her breathing calmed, "I dreamed about the night Jack first came to live with us, when we danced and then I took Jack off to his room. I remember Jack went to bed as soon as he'd found a room and then I came back to find you in the Control Room."

"I remember," said the Doctor, "We stayed up for hours with that cheesy forties music on and drank far too many cups of tea. We were talking about what we would do if we'd lived in the forties and you insisted you would have gone to war with the boys rather than stay to be a land girl. We fell asleep together on the console chair, woke up all aches and pains. Why would that scare you?"

Rose sniffed and buried her face into his neck, taking some comfort in the slightly elevated double pulse she found there. She pressed her lips to the point where it was strongest, reminding herself of the taste of his skin, "It was different this time. You were sitting on the floor looking really upset so I went over to you but you were angry with me," she sobbed.

The Doctor rocked her gently as she told him the outcome of her dream, hushing her as fresh sobs racked her small frame, "Rose I have never ever blamed you for what happened that day and I wouldn't have if somehow my old form could be here too. I loved you so much back then, that's why I took the vortex from you. I knew I would regenerate and I regretted I couldn't explain the process more to you but I never ever blamed you. You're feeling guilty because we didn't go back to Gallifrey when you realised I was there and that's what is causing the nightmares. We've had such a crazy time of it lately its not surprising that our subconscious's are mucking about."

"S'pose," said Rose, still muffled against his shoulder, "You must think I'm a great big baby, getting all upset over a silly dream."

"Yeah you're nearly as bad as me throwing my toys out of the pram when the TARDIS goes off course," said the Doctor, smiling as he felt her giggle against his shoulder, "Tell you what, now I don't make an offer like this very often so feel privileged Miss Tyler; how about we go to your Mum's for a few days? No TARDIS, no monsters, no Time War. Just you and me, chilling out in twenty-first century London with nothing to do but spend some proper time together."

"I'd like that," said Rose, "You really wouldn't mind, Mum won't let you sleep on the TARDIS you know."

"I know but I'm sure we could persuade her to let me share your bed," said the Doctor, "I'll go set a course now, I don't think either of us much fancy going back to sleep again."

Rose watched as he clambered out of bed and pulled on his discarded suit trousers before grabbing a clean shirt from the wardrobe and disappearing into the adjoining bathroom. Rose slipped from the warm cocoon of the duvet and pulled on her dressing gown, wandering over to the wardrobe and rifling through the clothes there, her own main outfits interspersed with the Doctor's various shirts and t-shirts. She felt a tug on her heart strings that only echoed occasionally now as she allowed her hands to reach the very edge of the old, oak cupboard and come into contact with the leather jacket that hung there. He still wore it on occasion when he was 'off duty' but for the passed few months it had hung forgotten at the back of the wardrobe. She pulled it from its hanger and held it to her face, frowning as she realised the old scent she still remembered in her dreams had all but disappeared and had been replaced by the fresh, youthful scent of the Doctor now. She felt the tears at the corners of her eyes once more but refused to let them fall.

"I am sorry," she whispered to no one in particular, "I'm sorry I never told you how I felt about you, I did love you. I wouldn't have changed you if I had the choice but I do love you now as well. If there is any way that you can hear me please believe me."

Two strong arms crossed about her waist and she felt soft lips against her hair. She relaxed slightly and was about to speak when she heard the long remembered sensual tones in her ear, rough and pained rather than the light and jovial voice she knew now.

"I can't."

Rose span around on her heel but her eyes met with nothing but their unmade bed and the closed bathroom door, muffling the Doctor's gentle off key rendition of some ancient Gallifreyan song. She quickly returned the jacket to the cupboard before grabbing the first set of her own clothes that came to hand. Hurrying across the room she opened the bathroom door and stepped inside, closing it with a defiant slam to the room behind.

XXXX

The TARDIS materialised in her new favourite spot, beside the swings in the children's playground, just west of her housing block. Rose stepped out with her bag in hand and breathed in the familiar, polluted air of her home town. She turned to the Doctor as he came to the door, a small, canvas army issue bag slung across him. He pulled the door shut and locked the door, taking her hand and smiling as the warmth of the day chased away the daemons of the previous night. Rose gave his hand a gentle squeeze in thanks before they set off across the bouncy tarmac. He opened the small metal gate before stepping back to allow her through and took the moment of separation to wrap his arm around her waist rather than taking her hand once again. Rose lay her head on his shoulder and they made slow but steady progress towards her mother's flat.

As they reached the floor Rose felt the Doctor's strides slow slightly and she looked up at him with a knowing grin, "You did offer," she said.

He groaned but smiled down at her, "I know, its just…do you think she'll hug me again. She's dangerous your mother, my ribs can't take another of her hugs. She nearly re-broke them last time."

"You're such a baby!"

"Hey! You try having your ribs broken by a ghost and then have your mother hug you to death, she's like an over-excited Rottweiler, slobbery and dangerous!"

"You can be so rude, do you know that?" said Rose, trying to keep the smirk off her face as the image of her mother with slobbery jowls and a tail threatened to break her calm.

"It's a talent from birth I assure you," said the Doctor as they reached the front door and Rose pressed the bell.

They heard the pad of feet on the carpet and then the creak of the rickety door as it was opened before Jackie shrieked at the sight of them both.

"Oh you're home," she cried hugging Rose before lovingly shoving her into the flat and turning her attention to the Doctor, "Hello pet, oh look at you looking all skinny. The pair of you really need to take better care of yourself, have you been eating properly. Rose has he been eating he looks all thin…oh come in and lets get some tea on. You're just in time as well for the party."

"What party?" said the Doctor, finally extracting himself from Jackie's grip.

"Oh its Shelley's birthday but her flat's in such a mess since that Derek of hers went all DIY crazy so I said I'd have it here tonight," said Jackie, not noticing the look the Doctor threw Rose as he wished he'd never asked, "You went out with that son of hers for a while didn't you Rose? He was a lovely boy, we always hoped you two might make something of it but as always you just went back to that useless Jimmy Stones. I told you that would end in tears and look, I was right. You should listen to your mother, I know these things…"

"Mum!" said Rose, blushing at the mention of two exes in two seconds in front of the man who by far surpassed either of them, "What time is this party then? We'll go out for dinner, get out of your hair."

"Nonsense," said Jackie, as the Doctor made pleading faces behind her back, "I've been going on about Himself to the girls for ages and they're dying to meet him. Just make yourselves comfy and I'll call you if I need any help."

Not caring for her daughter's pained look Jackie breezed back into the kitchen and proceeded to sing along to the dreadful eighties sounds coming from the radio. The Doctor flopped on the sofa and shot Rose an exaggerated grimace. Rose settled next to him and tried to suppress a giggle.

"I'm sorry," she said.

"If I kill her will you forgive me?" said the Doctor, "I promise to make it quick and look like an accident."

"You wouldn't stand a chance against her," said Rose, "She'd slap you to death."

The Doctor shuddered and reached his hand to his cheek, "Hmm, maybe not," he said, "Do you think if I really misbehave though she'll make us go out."

"I wouldn't risk it, she might make you serve drinks!"

The Doctor's retort was cut off by Jackie's shrill tones echoing from the kitchen.

"By the way, if the girls ask you've been in Siam for the passed two months!"

The Doctor's eyes widened in surprise and he bit his lip to repress a laugh, "Does she realise…"

"Don't!" giggled Rose, "Geography was never my mother's strong point. She argued with Mickey and I for hours when we told her it was called Thailand now, she insisted that they never would have got in wrong in a Hollywood movie."

"Of Lord," said the Doctor, "Why do I have a feeling this will be a long night?"


	3. A Cry For Help

"Well I 'ave to say, you're better looking than that other fellow she used to 'ang around with. Great lanky thing 'e was and a right face on 'im whenever anyone tried to talk to 'im. Right miserable git, knew he'd never make our Rose 'appy, takes after 'er mother does Rose, sensible girl she is. What is it you said you did again luvvie?"

"I'm a…I'm an archaeologist, professor of archaeology at the University of…well, lots of them really. I travel a lot," said the Doctor, conscious of the wall at his back and one of Jackie's friends between him and the nearest exit. Sheila, she'd said her name was, one of Jackie's old colleagues from the salon she had worked in before Rose was born and clearly still stuck in the eighties with her bubble perm hair and bright blue eye shadow. The acrid smell of nicotine scorched his senses as she took another drag of the cheap, tar filled cigarette in her hand, "Ooh a professor, no wonder our Rose thought it best to shack up with you."

"Well we're not exactly…"

"What I want to know though is when you're gonna make an honest woman of 'er though. It might be all the fashion now but a young girl like that shouldn't be going around with an older man without a band on 'er finger. I hope you're both careful when you…"

"Aunty Shee," called Rose across the room, "I think Mum wants you in the kitchen."

"All right my dear," said Sheila, stepping away from the Doctor in a haze of cheap perfume and cigarette smoke, "Talk to you later Professor Smith. Ooh he's a love Rose, done well for yourself there you have."

Rose grimaced as her cheek received a pinch more suitable for a five year old as Sheila brushed passed her and into the kitchen. She rubbed her face as she wandered over to the Doctor.

"Thanks," he said, "I think she was about to give me a talk on safe sex!"

Rose had to giggle at the blush across his cheeks, "Oh I got that the second she arrived, before she told me that if I hadn't gotten my claws into you she would be quite willing to show you what a real woman was."

"I think I'm gonna be sick," said the Doctor, "Can we please escape? They're all half drunk, they won't notice if we sneak away. Its still early enough for us to go up town, we could grab a late dinner, go to a bar, get a hotel for the night."

"I know that look Doctor, you really do have a mind like a disused railway at times," said Rose, smiling as she felt a cool hand settle on her back under her t-shirt. She suppressed a moan as his fingers traced a clever pattern on her hip, just above the rise of her dreams.

"What's that?"

"One track and dirty."

"And you're not thinking the same thing right now?" he said, dipping his head to whisper to her, "At the moment you're heart rate is fluttering sending more and more blood to the areas it knows needs it most, your lips, your fingertips, your…"

He stopped as Rose turned herself enough to shield them from her mother's friends and trailed a hand down to the front of his trousers, "I'm not the only one who's hearts are working over time," she said, gently caressing him, "Careful you don't faint, all that blood rushing south."

"You're wicked."

"Takes one to know one," said Rose, "TARDIS?"

"Oh yes," murmured the Doctor.

He took her hand and hurried her towards the front door, not even pausing to answer the enquiring looks of several of Jackie's friends. Rose giggled at his urgency. He opened the door and barely stopped himself careering into the little old lady who had just raised her hand to knock. She looked up at him through the gauze of her black, lace head scarf and gave him a smile of broken and yellowed teeth.

"Madame Estella at your service, Sir," she said, her voice reminiscent of many an evil baddy in a fairytale.

"Excuse me?" said the Doctor, resisting the urge to hop from foot to foot in his impatience to get passed the old lady.

"Oooh is that Madame Estella," came Jackie's shrill tones from behind them. The Doctor was roughly pushed aside as Jackie steamed passed him, twittering on about how she had not heard the door bell go.

"Come in, come in," said Jackie to the old lady, "Everyone is in the front room, just go on through."

"Mum who is that?" said Rose, ignoring the pleading look the Doctor sent her.

"Her name's Madame Estella," said Jackie as if it explained everything and rolling her eyes when Rose shot her a quizzical look, "She's one of them psychics, Shell is really into all that spiritualist stuff and so we thought we'd get her round to tell fortunes and stuff."

"Ah right," said the Doctor, "Good job we're off then."

"Off!" cried Jackie, "Off where? You said you were staying for a few days and how am I going to explain to the girls when you just disappear again?"

"We're just going to go up town for the night Mum, get out of your hair…"

"Oh no you're not…"

"Mum…"

"Rose Marion Tyler you are staying put do you hear?" said Jackie with a tone the Doctor had heard on a very rare occasion, usually just before he was about to get a slap, "And you Doctor…you, you're staying put too, no arguments."

"Yes Mum," said Rose.

"Yes Mum," echoed the Doctor before cowering as a familiar look passed over Jackie's eyes before she turned on her heel and returned to her guests.

Rose couldn't help but laugh as the Doctor fell to his knees at the side of her, tugging on her hand like a petulant five year old, "Rose please don't make me go back in there, they're going to eat me alive. If I have to hear what a lovely boy I am one more time and how I need to learn what a real woman is, I swear I'm going to scream!"

"Get up you idiot," she said, pulling him back to his feet, glad to hear him laughing again, "I'll stay by you and hey, we can check out how good this psychic is. If she tells us our next stop is nineteenth century China then we'll know she's either very good or completely bonkers."

"I'm not having some Mommy Fortuna pawing my palm for a handful of silver, you know I don't believe all that rubbish. Penrith and the Proctor house was one thing, mail order psychics are quite another," said the Doctor, wandering back into the front room.

"Humbug?" said Rose, echoing his words to Charles Dickens almost two and a half years before, "I thought you were all about new experiences, guess I was misled."

The Doctor turned back to see her idly examining her nails, a restrained smile on her face.

"Oh it is so on baby," he muttered, "Jackie, sign me up for a reading will you!"

XXXX

Madame Estella proved a big hit with the party guests, talking to each individually and giving the typical general predictions that could be interpreted anyway people pleased, leaving the ladies either screaming with delight or shaking their heads and muttering how she couldn't possibly have known the information she came out with. The Doctor and Rose looked on in mild amusement as Jackie got told she would meet a tall stranger who she already knew and would come into a fortune after a very big move. Rose shifted uncomfortably as her mother's reading came to a close, signalling that hers would soon begin. She felt the Doctor lace his fingers into hers as he tugged her to him to whisper.

"Whatever she says, remember that you and you alone are mistress of your own destiny. Just don't give too much away, the trick they use is to watch your reactions to what they say and work from there," he said softly, "And if she mentions anything about tall, dark strangers tell her you've already met him and he's so disappointed he's still dark and not ginger!"

Rose pressed a kiss to his cheek before moving over to the dining table and sitting opposite Madame Estella, resting five pound coins across her palm as payment for the reading.

"Give me your hand dear," said the old woman, holding out a old gnarled palm for Rose to rest her hand in.

Rose laid her hand down, noticing the clear distinction between her clear, ivory palm, and Estella's liver spotted, papery skin and feeling the niggling feeling that often accompanied age, how long she had by the Doctor's side before he had to leave her behind. She looked over her shoulder to the man in question and he gave her a reassuring smile. Madame Estella was muttering away to herself as she traced the lines on Rose's palm, occasionally tapping and clicking her tongue as she reached a particular point.

"You're a great traveller," she said, "You travel far and wide."

Rose gave a brief nod of affirmative before remembering the Doctor's warning not to give too much away.

"You've had great upheaval in your life and you have seen death before you should but you don't regret what you have seen. Blue is a very important colour to you, blue to you means home and warmth and sanctuary. This place is where you go to hide from what you see and it is where you see love."

Rose couldn't help but throw another look to the Doctor, smiling as she saw him relaxed back against the arm of the sofa, glasses perched on his nose and suit jacket removed, leaving him in the soft burgundy shirt she loved so much. He was listening but with no alarm at the words coming from the lady currently holding Rose's hand. Rose's attention was drawn back to Madame Estella as she began speaking again.

"You have been dreaming lately," she said, looking up from Rose's palm and staring up into Rose's eyes.

Rose nearly choked in alarm as she noticed the woman's eyes were such a deep blue that they almost looked purple. A trick of the light she rationalised, her mother always having favoured rose coloured light bulbs over white.

"You have been dreaming of a lost love and yet you feel he is still with you. He wants to speak to you but you will not listen to him because you have yet to accept his death. He says he was with you at the house in the lakes and he has been with you these passed few nights, trying to get through to you."

Rose whimpered as the woman's hand tightened around her own, "Please stop," she muttered softly.

"He is very wilful, he wants you to listen, he says that he doesn't like pretty boys."

"Stop it," said Rose, "Please, don't say that."

The Doctor was by her side in a second and quickly extracted Rose's hand from the old lady's grip, "I think that's enough of that now. Come on Rose, we've still got time to go up town."

"What about your reading?" said Jackie, the alcohol dulling her perception of her daughter's upset.

"I really don't need anyone telling me my future," said the Doctor, slipping an arm around Rose's waist and pressing a kiss to her forehead before turning her towards the door.

"Do you not want to know who is asking for you?" said Madame Estella.

"Thank you, Mother but there is no one of consequence that you could tell me of," said the Doctor turning his back on her once more.

"You have upset Susan by saying that, she never knew she was of no consequence to you," said Estella, her violet eyes trained on the Doctor's back.

The Doctor came to an abrupt halt and turned back to her, an expression Rose couldn't read on his face. The whole room was silent save for the gentle sound of breathing.

"What did you just say?"

"Susan is upset that she was never of any consequence to you. She wishes to speak to you, to tell you that she forgives you for what happened."

"Who've you been talking to?" said the Doctor, rooted to the spot but the fire beginning to rage in his eyes, "Who told you about her?"

"She told me her name, sought me out."

"Rubbish!"

"She needs your help and there is another, another you have helped before and she is crying for you, crying for the Doctor. She says her name is Grace and that she and Ivy are in trouble, that he has found them."

"Clarence?" murmured Rose at his side, "Doctor is it…?"

"What have you been telling her?" said the Doctor turning on Jackie, "What did you feed her with before she came here tonight? The ins and outs of your friends' lives so that she can make wild predictions? The details of what happened the Christmas I changed? What happened at that dreadful house of yours? Do you think its funny to let her play with people like that Jackie, bring up the past?"

"How could I tell her anything about some bird called Susan, you've never told us about a Susan!" snapped Jackie, "She another one of your companions, another innocent girl you took away from her family."

Rose felt the Doctor's hand tighten around her own and she ran a comforting hand up his arm, "Come on, let's go," she said, tugging him towards the door.

"Just so you know Jackie," said the Doctor, "Susan was my family, she was my grandchild."

"How can 'e have a grand kid?" came Sheila's voice from across the room, "He's barely out of his cradle 'imself!"

The Doctor didn't stop to hear the rest, pulling Rose by the hand to the door and out into the street lamp lit world of South London. He cared nothing for the narcotic induced absent stares of a group of teenagers lingering at the entrance to the stairwell, nor the rain that soon began beating down on them as they stepped out into the night. Rose slowed her steps but kept a tight hold on the Doctor's hand, letting him choose when they would finally stop.

"Are you ok?" she said when he finally came to a halt, the rain already soaking his shirt sleeves and wetting down his hair.

"I'm fine, just getting twitchy in there," said the Doctor, with a shaky calm, "Old witch probably did some research on me, Susan and I travelled together for while, probably some information on her somewhere on this rock."

"Do you really believe that?" said Rose.

"I have to," said the Doctor, "I can't believe that…what that woman was doing does not fit my rules."

"You've been wrong before," said Rose with no malice in her voice, as she ran a hand over his soaked hair, "And how did she know I was dreaming about you as you used to be?"

The Doctor suddenly grasped her shoulders, his eyes holding her own and not concealing his concern, "Now that you mustn't believe, what she said in there. I may have regenerated but that doesn't mean the old me died in anyway, shape or form. Everything I was then is still me now, every memory, every thought, every opinion and there is no way there is some ghost of my old form angry with you for continuing to be with me now. I'm the same man Rose, you do believe that don't you?"

"Of course I do," said Rose, "I can still see so much of the old you in you now. Mum probably told her about me 'losing' you when you regenerated and I probably gave too much away when she said I had been dreaming, she was watching my every move."

Rose raised herself onto tiptoes to press a kiss to his lips, tasting the rain that lingered there and then forgetting it all as his hands released her arms and wrapped around her. He pulled back enough to run his lips over her cheeks and closed eyelids, his breathing betraying his relief that she did not think him a different person from his old form.

"I love you," he murmured against her forehead, pressing a kiss there, "So much."

"I know," said Rose, pulling back and taking his hand, "I love you too. Doctor, can you tell me about her? About Susan?"

"I can try," said the Doctor, "But can we get inside first, I'm utterly soaked and you're not exactly looking your best."

Rose raised her eyes skywards as if examining her rain darkened hair now hanging in limp curls around her face, "Good idea. Why don't you go in the TARDIS, get dry and get that fire going in the library? I'll go grab your jacket and bag from Mum's, don't really want to know what those women will do if they find the sonic screwdriver."

"Stop right there, I don't want the image of one of your mother's friends deflowering my wonderful device in my head right now," said the Doctor, "Take care on your way up there."

"I will," said Rose, pressing a kiss to his cheek, "Give me fifteen minutes ok, I'm probably going to get a lecture."

The Doctor watched on until she disappeared back into the housing block before turning to the children's playground and crossing the ground to the TARDIS.

XXXX

Rose escaped her mother with the minimum amount of aggravation having been told that she had ruined the party and upset Madame Estella but seeing Bev and Shelley currently dancing on the dining room table had convinced Rose that she was actually the cause of no discomfort to her mother's guests. She had told her Mum that they would be leaving before the morning and Jackie had put up her usual argument but Rose has been insistent, preferring the TARDIS to the atmosphere that would now linger in the flat. The rain was still falling heavily when she left the flat, her bag in hand and the Doctor's slung across her body, his jacket hanging over the strap. Life in South London had taught her to check before stepping out of the door but seeing no one around she decided she would be safe enough for the brief journey to the TARDIS. She went to the stairwell and made her way down and out into the rain. The night was split by a great flash of lightning and a clap of thunder and the street lamps around her spluttered and died. She frowned and quickly rifled through the Doctor's pockets until her hand settled on the sonic screwdriver. She flipped the small device onto its torch setting and used the beam to illuminate the now midnight black streets.

The light from the TARDIS windows stood out like a beacon and she turned her feet towards them. The sound of the rain was near deafening as it hammered on the corrugated metal roves of the old fashioned garages beside the housing block. Despite the rain there was a sound almost out of place behind her. Rose had been followed home enough times to recognise the rise and fall of the steps in time with her own, she would usually have run to Mickey's nearby flat but that was no longer an option to her since he had left. She began hurrying her steps towards the TARDIS, hearing those behind her do the same. She fumbled in her pocket for her phone, squinting through her rain soaked hair as she tried to make out the screen. She tried the Doctor's mobile but as usual it told her it wasn't even turned on. She scrolled through to the TARDIS number and pressed call. The phone rang and rang but there was no answer at the other end.

Rose's curses were hardly lady like as she told the phone exactly what she thought of the Time Lord's inability to pick up a telephone. She kept her hurried steps as she heard the person behind her begin to gain on her and then pass her. She span around in the darkness, the tiny beam from the sonic screwdriver not enough to show her the estate. Her breathing came in ragged puffs as she strained her ears to listen for the telltale footsteps, trying desperately to remember the defence moves the Doctor had insisted on teaching her. She cursed the fact that she had paid more attention to pinning the Doctor against the crash matt in the TARDIS gym than the lessons he'd been vainly trying to teach her. She tried the phone again but there was still no response. She closed her eyes briefly, begging the Doctor to hear her thoughts. He had once said in his old form when she had been in danger from one of the boys on the estate that he was attuned to her distress cries but distressed as she was now there was still no sign of the Doctor.

She heard the footsteps echo to her left and swung the torch round, searching the collection of bins under the canopy for the telltale sign of a figure. She strained her ears for the sound again but nothing came. Her eyes caught a brief movement and focused on it. A figure stood up, tall and thin. She gasped at the sight, the sonic screwdriver trembling in her hand as the figure turned. A familiar manic grin shone out at her and she dropped the sonic screwdriver in her alarm, she fumbled for it in the rain soaked floor and closed her hand around it gratefully. She got back to her feet and concentrated her beam back where she had seen the figure, there was nothing there. She shook her head and refocused her eyes but the only thing moving was a cat scrambling on one of the closed lids.

"There you are."

Rose screamed as she heard a voice at her back and quickly spun round on her heel to be met with the concerned expression of the Doctor, sheltered under a large black umbrella.

"Whoa! Easy huney!" he said steadying Rose as she stumbled, "I didn't mean to frighten you. I was getting worried where you were and I came out to see the power out, you alright?"

"Yeah," said Rose with a forced smile, "Yeah I'm fine, just lost my bearings."

She held up the sonic screwdriver with its torch setting, "This thing is useless by the way, distorts the light and had my eyes playing tricks on me."

The Doctor gave her a smile and took the sonic screwdriver from her hands, slipping it into the pocket of the jeans he had changed into, "Come on, let's get you home. I don't want you taking ill because you've been wandering round in wet clothes in this weather."

Rose let him slip an arm around her shoulders as he pulled her underneath the umbrella and lead her back to the TARDIS. As he pushed open the door Rose stole a brief glance over he shoulder to the estate to see the power come back on as if nothing had ever gone wrong.

XXXX

The Doctor had struggled through the brief tale of Susan and their adventures together. Rose couldn't help but shed a tear when he told of how he had had to abandon her as he knew she would never leave him despite having fallen in love with the young freedom fighter David Campbell. He had told of his remorse, hidden from his other two companions as the TARDIS dematerialised to the sound of his only grand-child begging him to come back for her.

"Her cries haunt me still," said the Doctor, staring into the fire opposite the large sofa they sat upon, Rose's hand in his as she drew her thumb over his knuckles in a small gesture of comfort, "But I know I did the right thing. She had fallen in love and she couldn't spend her life chasing after a silly old man like me."

"Did you ever see her again?" asked Rose, her questioning delicate for fear of him concealing his past from her once more but feeling relieved as his hand slipped onto her bare leg beneath her dressing gown.

"Oh yes, more than once. The first time one of my people caused a paradox that brought four of my forms together in the Temple of Rassilon on my home planet. Some companions were pulled in also, Susan was one of them but she was older. She was wearing a golden band on her wedding finger and she looked so happy. We didn't talk about much that had passed, we had to be so careful with so many of my time lines intermingled. I was loathed to part with her when our quest was complete but I had my time line and she had her own but we were to meet again, many years later."

"What happened?" said Rose.

"Just before the war I went home, to Gallifrey. Susan had returned there when David had died on Earth, she had regenerated but I knew it was her. We lived together and travelled occasionally until I went off again. Then the war came and brave thing that she was…"

"Hush," said Rose, gripping his hand a little tighter, "I understand, you don't need to say anymore. You must miss her."

The Doctor nodded, his eyes not leaving the fire, "Every day but she died as she wanted, protecting the universe."

"I wish I could have met her," said Rose honestly, "She sounds so lovely."

"She would have loved you," said the Doctor, "but you would have been a dangerous team, you're the only two women in the whole universe that can wrap me around your little fingers. My life would never have been my own. All I would have heard was 'Grandfather can I have… Doctor can we go…', I would have been a slave to you both."

Rose laughed softly as she leant forward to rest her forehead against the side of his head, fussing the fly away strands, "Thank you for telling me."

"Thank you for being there to tell," said the Doctor turning around to face her, "Come here."

Rose shifted to sit across his legs, wrapping her arms around his neck. The Doctor brushed several strands of drying hair out of her eyes and tucked it behind her ear.

"Part of me doesn't regret it…the War," he said, cupping her cheek, "If I hadn't suffered what I did I never would have needed someone to take with me, I probably wouldn't have come back when you said no to travelling with me the first time. I can't imagine what my life would be like without you in it now, if I lost you Rose…"

"Don't," said Rose, laying a finger against his lips, "I know but we both know how dangerous our life is. Let's just make the most of what we have now hey, not think about the future, or the past, just now; you and me, here, together."

Taking the initiative Rose rocked her hips against him and felt the stirring response beneath her. She swallowed his moan of delight as she kissed him, her hands coming round to cup his cheeks, her thumbs pushing away the remaining traces of the tears stains. His fingers trailed down her neck to push aside the top of her robe. He pulled back from her kiss to trace a path with his lips where his fingers had just travelled. Rose knotted her fingers into his hair and let her head fall back as he paid special attention to the soft skin of her neck.

"We should go to bed," he murmured against her, the vibration of his lips playing against her pulse point.

"No," said Rose, scratching the nails of one hand down his neck, "Right here, right now."

The Doctor didn't protest further, bucking up to her and causing her to gasp as the rough material of his jeans pressed against her. His hands found the tie of the robe and pulled it loose before encouraging her to remove her hands from his hair so he could push it off her shoulders, leaving her bare before him. He drank in the sight of her, her hair illuminated by the firelight.

"My Rose," he said before capturing her lips once more.

Her clever fingers snaked between them and quickly released him from his trouser's restraints. She stroked him gently before raising her hips just enough to slide down onto him. He moaned into her mouth before pulling away to crush her body to his, enjoying the sound of her quickening breath as they moved together and the only words he needed to hear.

"My Doctor."


	4. To Have Loved and Lost

"No," came the desperate whimper, "You're hurting me, no…"

The Doctor strained his ears in the console room but the sound didn't come again, shrugging he dipped back below the console and returned to working on repairing the damage he had done five days before. He crawled into the small space and rolled onto his back, holding the sonic screwdriver between his teeth and he gently untied the knot of multi-coloured wiring. He frowned at the mess, convinced the TARDIS had tied herself in knots to punish him for his outburst when she malfunctioned and landed them at the site of Gallifrey's destruction. He patted the nearest surface as he felt the small twinge in his mind that told him that she had forgiven him his expression of grief at her expense. He was not so glad for the surface as he jumped at the sound of a scream echoing from deep inside the ship.

Cursing he wriggled out from beneath the console and took off down the corridor towards the site of the sound. He found what he expected to, Rose tangled in the bed sheets, reaching out to nothingness and crying out for her imaginary captor to stop. He took her outstretched hands and perched on the edge of the bed, hushing her gently. She gradually quieted before her eyes began to flutter open, staring around her surroundings in confusion before settling on his face. She blushed and turned her gaze away.

"Sorry," she said, "Did I wake you?"

"No, I was up," said the Doctor smoothing down her sweat slicked hair, "What am I going to do with you hey? Was it the same dream?"

Rose nodded, "Exactly the same. Why doesn't it go away? Its days since we went to Gallifrey."

"It'll take time," said the Doctor, "Your subconscious is working through some issues and there's nothing I can do to help except for listen to you if you want to talk. Are you sure there's nothing on your mind?"

Rose shook her head and stretched, wincing at he knots in her back from her thrashing, "Are we going anywhere today?"

"What do you think? I just have about half an hour's more work to do and then we'll be off so you have plenty of time to get ready," said the Doctor with a manic grin.

"And where are we going?"

"America."

"And when are we going? What date?"

"How do you fancy watching the early English settlers landing in the Americas for the first time?"

"Really?" said Rose, "Oh but that means itchy clothes doesn't it?"

The Doctor gave her a warm smile, "But that's the beauty of the TARDIS wardrobe you see, period cloth on the outside of the outfit but lined with contemporary fabrics that will ensure you don't get itchy at all. Now get to it, the outfit is all laid out in the wardrobe room for you."

"Are you changing?" said Rose as the Doctor headed for the door, "You can hardly go to a place where they call everything out of place a witch wearing that suit of yours."

"Yes I can," said the Doctor.

"I swear you just do it to cause trouble."

"You know me too well, to the wardrobe wench, we have a boat to catch," said the Doctor before bolting from the room and narrowly avoiding the pillow thrown in his direction.

XXXX

The TARDIS juddered as it sailed off into the vortex, leaving behind the now familiar scene of a mob of angry people. Rose couldn't help but laugh as she took in the singed base of the Doctor's long fawn coat. The Doctor turned to her with an expression of mock hurt before bursting into laughter himself.

"And that is the reason I am not a cat person," he said after several moments of laughter, "Bloody thing following me round all the time."

"No wonder they thought you were a witch with a black cat following you round all the time and then when you pulled out the sonic screwdriver…" cried Rose once again falling into peals of laughter, "You were so lucky that thunder storm came and put out the fire, I didn't fancy having to jump on that thing to save you."

"Well it wasn't my fault," said the Doctor before catching the look Rose gave him, "Ok maybe it was…a bit…but it wasn't my fault we ended up in England rather than America and it wasn't my fault that the Witch Finder General was standing right beside where the TARDIS landed!"

"Last time I looked you were the one driving," said Rose, pressing a kiss to his cheek, "I'm going to go and change into something a bit more comfortable, I feel like a nun in this get up."

"Don't be too long, I thought we could make a stop on Illusious Prime before dinner," called the Doctor as Rose climbed up the steps to the TARDIS interior.

Rose wandered into their bedroom and proceeded work her way out of the pilgrim outfit she had been forced into, glad when she slid back into her familiar jeans and t shirt. She ran a brush through her hair and adjusted her make up before picking up her discarded clothes and leaving the room for the wardrobe room. The cavernous expanse greeted her with its myriad of outfits and colours. She climbed up to the level where she had found her outfit earlier and put it away lovingly. She ran her hand over some of the outfits, occasionally taking them off the rails and holding them up against her. She heard someone walk into the room below but kept silent, enjoying the thought of making him wait a little longer for her.

"Rose," came the voice, slightly distorted by the echoing room.

She smiled before the urge to move on to their next adventure became to much, "I'm coming," she called down, "Hold on."

She skipped down the winding stairs, her view of him obscured by the clothes covering every available rail and surface. Rose paused on the stairs as she heard the sound of crying, muffled by hands. She hurried her steps slightly.

"Doctor are you alright? What's the matter? Doctor?"

She reached the bottom of the stairs but there was no one standing in the doorway or in any part of the room. The sobbing continued to echo.

"Doctor come on, this isn't funny. Where are you?"

She walked to the door and peered out into the silent corridor. The sobbing came behind her again in the room and she froze.

"Rose?"

The voice she heard sent icy bursts down her back. A voice she hadn't heard in her own world for months and should never have heard but for in her cradle. A voice that had denied her when she had lost Mickey. She shuddered and shook her head, she was tired, imagining things.

"Rose is that you?"

She turned slowly, her hand coming up to stifle a gasp as she saw him as plain as day, the same cheap grey suit and off red shirt that she had seen when she had saved his life. The same messy strawberry blond hair.

"Dad?" she croaked.

"Hello sweetheart," he said wiping the tears from his eyes, "Its been a long time."

"How are you here?" said Rose approaching him warily before reaching out a hand to take his outstretched hand. She took a breath as his hand felt solid and real in hers, "You are real."

"Of course I'm real," said Pete, reaching up to cup her cheek, "Look at you all grown up, my baby girl."

"How did you get here?"

"Your Doctor fella sent me, said you needed someone to look after you. That you'd been having bad dreams. Well I'm here now sweetheart, Daddy's here."

"My Daddy," said Rose before throwing herself into his arms.

At first Rose didn't know why she kept falling and it was only when she hit the hard grating of the floor, clutching at thin air did she realise that she was alone. She rolled to sit up, nursing her hand where the impact had grazed it. The room was silent and empty.

"Dad?" she called, "Daddy?"

Silence answered her and she felt the chill go through her once more. Picking herself up off the floor she ran from the room, desperate for another presence and a break from the silence.

XXXX

The Doctor huffed down onto the sofa in the library, cursing women and the amount of time it took for them to change. He had given up waiting for Rose in the control room and had left a hastily scribbled post it on the monitor screen telling her to meet him in the library. He had discarded his singed coat and proceeded to flick through the nearest magazine to hand, one of Rose's lifestyle periodicals that he loathed but at a loss for anything to do he soon found himself absorbed. He heard faint footfalls behind him but didn't look up from what he was reading.

"Ah there you are? How long does it take you women to change?" he said, "You know that Posh Spice really needs to stop giving her kids stupid names but then when you're set to become the Queen of Los Angeles in ten years time you can get away with everything. You'd like that period, hilariously funny, a brief scuffle between David and that Tom Cruise bod, who by the way is completely Cuckoo with that Scientology stuff, ghosts of dead aliens I ask you? If I had to inhabit anyone after I die I certainly wouldn't pick Tom Cruise…"

"Little one…"

"What did you call me?" said the Doctor turning to face the doorway. He sprang to his feet in a heart beat and ran his hands over his eyes, "Oh no! No Way! Not a chance in the sunny side of Hell! I'm dreaming!"

He rubbed his eyes and pinched himself, yelping in surprise as pain flared in his arm. He looked up again, taking in the pale skin and long brunette curls he remembered fondly tugging in his infancy. The figure smiled warmly and opened her arms to him.

"Its been such a long time," she said softly, "How you've grown, my littlest one. I always said you would do great things."

"You're not real," said the Doctor, "You can't be real."

"Do I look real?" she said walking over to him, causing the Doctor to step back, "Don't fret little one, its alright to be alarmed, I couldn't warn you I was coming."

"How can you be here? You…you died…I remember…you got sick and you died."

"If I died then how am I here," she said taking his hand, "How can I touch you?"

The Doctor looked down at the fingers intertwined with his, marvelling how much his hand had changed while hers stayed exactly as he remembered.

"Mother?"

"Who else little one? I've missed you."

"I've missed you," echoed the Doctor, "So much."

She pulled back once more and opened up her arms to him, "Come here my love," she said, "I know you need me now more than ever."

The Doctor closed his eyes against the tears threatening to fail and stepped forward into her embrace. For a second her felt warm arms settle around his shoulders before they disappeared and the faint scent he always took comfort from was replaced by the heady scent of the burned out fireplace beside him. He opened his eyes and stared around himself at the empty room.

"Mother?" he called out, "Where are you? Where are you?"

He shook his head and ran a hand over his eyes. His mind worked over the passed minutes, everything had been so real.

"I saw you," he whispered, "I saw you I know I did."

He turned and rested his head on the mantle, before reaching up to a frame containing a picture of Rose and Jack in Cardiff before his regeneration and pulled off the back, revealing the picture concealed underneath. He took it out and look down at it. A young, beautiful brunette smiled up at him, a toddler on her knee in Gallifreyan Naming robes. He ran his hand over her face, the image so clear to him even without the photo being in his hand.

"I know I saw you," he said, slumping to sit cross legged on the floor, the photograph shaking in his trembling hands, "I know I did."

"Doctor?"

The Doctor looked up to see Rose in the doorway, her face stained with tears. His own pain forgotten he laid the photo down on the rug and ran over to her, enveloping her in his arms and feeling her tremble.

"What happened?"

"I saw my Dad," said Rose, "He was so real, I touched him but then he just disappeared."

The Doctor paled and fought to keep the shiver from his body but Rose felt it all the same.

"What is it?"

"Are you sure you weren't dreaming again?" asked the Doctor, avoiding the question and her eyes as she pulled back to look up at him.

"I wasn't dreaming," she said distantly, searching his face, "What did you see?"

"Nothing," said the Doctor too quickly before stepping from her arms and dropping his head to the floor, "I…I think…its mad, its not possible."

"What?" said Rose taking his hand.

"My Mother," said the Doctor, looking up at her through heavy lashes, "Right here in this room, standing right in the doorway. My Mother who died when I was twelve years old, standing in the TARDIS I didn't have back then like she had always been here."

Rose looked close to fainting and the Doctor reached out a hand to steady her, "What's happening Doctor? We're both awake. How could we…he was there, in the wardrobe room and he was real I swear it."

"I believe you," said the Doctor, pushing down the panic that wanted to rise in him and guiding them over to the sofa. He sat down and pulled her down beside him, "If it was as real as what I've just seen. Why her? Its been so very many years?"

Rose wriggled from his arms and wandered over to the photo discarded on the floor. She picked it up and regarded the picture with a concerned eye.

"I know this lady," she said, "I've seen her before, I thought I was dreaming."

The Doctor looked even paler than before as he stared up at her, unable to form anything to be regarded as a coherent sentence. Rose came back over to him, the photo in her hand.

"Is this…?"

The Doctor nodded, his eyes falling on the picture and pulling the threat of tears forward once again. He bit back a sob, "That's my mother," he said, "And…that's me, a very long time ago."

Rose couldn't help a weak smile as she took in the angelic expression on the child's face and his halo of blond curls, "You were a sweet baby."

"Where have you seen her Rose?" said the Doctor, "When did you see her?"

Rose didn't take her eyes off the picture, "I woke a couple of times when we were sharing your old room, she was standing by your side of the bed, stroking your hair. I thought I was dreaming but it…it was her. I know it was."

"But she can't have been."

"She was there, Doctor. I always remember going back to sleep wandering why I was dreaming of a pretty lady stroking your hair."

"She always did that," said the Doctor, his hand trembling as he took the picture from her and looked down at it, "When I was little I would wake up to find her in my room, just sitting beside me. Even at the end she would sometimes struggle out of bed to sit beside me."

"How did she die?" asked Rose, "Didn't she regenerate like you?"

The Doctor stood up, taking the photo back to the discarded frame and put it back in its place of concealment, putting the picture of Rose and Jack back onto the mantle. He looked up at his reflection in the mirror and wiped away the tear tracks, rolling his shoulders and pulling up a familiar façade of indifference. He could see Rose on the sofa behind, her eyes trained on the carpet.

"I'm sorry," she said, "It wasn't my place to ask."

The Doctor shut his eyes for a second and reached into his pocket to grasp the pendant that he had thrown to Grace to protect her in Penrith. He felt the cool stone warm beneath his fingers and sighed heavily.

"She got sick, I don't know what with. My siblings and I were away when it finally happened and my father never told us what took her," he said, his voice cracking over words he had never thought to utter before, "She just died, I wasn't even there for her funeral."

Rose raised her head and met his gaze in the mirror, "I'm sorry."

"All in the past now isn't it," said the Doctor, straightening up and pulling his glasses from his pocket, "Now come on, we have work to do. Can't be sitting round guessing what's happening, we need to find out."

Rose wanted to stop him and beg him to confront his emotions but she knew it would be little use, he would close himself off. She needed to keep him close, keep him responsive to her because even though she would never admit it out loud to him, she was terrified.

XXXX

Rose looked around the Doctor's old room, noticing with some confusion that little had changed and where she had expected to find cobwebs and dust she found clean and clear surfaces. The Doctor had briefly explained that the TARDIS kept all the rooms in use clean, hence why she would never see him cleaning. The decision had been made to sleep in the Doctor's room to see if the phenomena Rose had previously witness would be once again stirred by their presence.

The Doctor had been shocked by how well Rose had taken his idea to tempt whatever was effecting the TARDIS to the surface, she had been pale and shaky since the incident with her father and had not left his side for more than a second. They were both deeply shaken by what they had seen but the Doctor's scientific nature had soon taken control of the situation, looking for answers rather than falling onto the assumption of supernatural influence. Many ideas existed, they had hit a time pocket that had mixed up their time lines, there was remaining ionic energy surrounding the TARDIS where it too had been transported by the Isolas, they had both contracted an alien illness that was causing them to hallucinate.

Rose rubbed her arm where the small plaster covered the tiny pinprick on her arm. She had insisted the Doctor had taken at least half her blood for his tests for any illnesses she could have contracted and she had nearly fainted when the Doctor had asked her to help him do the same. She had eventually steeled herself and used the syringe, almost shocked that his blood came out the same colour as hers. The Doctor had seen her expression and laughed at her, causing her to smile properly for the first time since leaving the wardrobe.

"Now are you sure you want to stay with me?" said the Doctor for about the tenth time in as many minutes, "I'll be alright on my own."

"That would defeat the object though," said Rose, "I've only ever seen the figure when you've been sleeping and if you're sleeping you won't see her so I need to be here."

"Good point," said the Doctor slipping off his dressing gown and staring down at the bed, "Right, well sleep then."

"Yeah," murmured Rose, "Sleep."

She looked up in surprise as the Doctor started laughing lightly, his hand pulling back the covers but still not getting into bed.

"What's so funny?"

"We're such wimps," said the Doctor, "Scared of going to bed."

Rose's lip twitched into a half smile, "Yeah I guess we are. Getting in?"

The Doctor nodded and climbed into the bed before pulling back the covers for her to get in beside him. Rose instantly cuddled into his side and pulled the duvet right up to her chin. She felt the Doctor's lips brush her hair before he clicked the sonic screwdriver and plunged the room into darkness. She was amazed to feel his heart beats steady and calm against her cheek whilst hers echoed wildly. She felt his hand trailing up and down her arm in gentle calming strokes. She concentrated on the thump of his hearts and the familiar warmth that surrounded her. It wasn't long before she heard his breathing even out and deepen, signalling that he had fallen asleep at her side. Rose opened her eyes and squinted in the darkness, just waiting.

XXXX

It wasn't long before she felt the subtle movement of the Doctor's arm around her shoulders before he rolled away from her, mumbling in his sleep. She looked at the bed beside him but there was no figure at his side. She wanted to hush him as she often did when a dream took him but something stilled her hand. She heard the familiar mutterings that she could never translate and recognized the dream as the one he often suffered in his old form, the remembrance of the Time War. As he quieted slightly Rose heard another noise unfamiliar to the TARDIS but something that had been scarily familiar to her recently. Booted feet echoed in the corridor making their way passed the bedroom and towards the control room.

Rose leaned over the Doctor and grabbed the sonic screwdriver before clambering out of bed, struggling into her dressing gown and getting knotted up in her haste. As she finally extracted herself from the knot of fluffy cloth she slipped her feet into her trainers and went to the door. She cast a look over her shoulder to the figure on the bed, loathed to leave him but the need to get to the bottom of the situation willing her onwards. She looked up to the TARDIS roof and whispered into the darkness.

"Take care of him."

Rose slipped into the darkened corridor, keeping a hand on the wall, the familiar vibrations of the ship keeping her grounded and calm. The footfalls still echoed ahead, slowing and quickening in time with her own. Another sound joined the thump of booted feet, a sound that made the fine hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. Carefree whistling flew back to her from the control room, a tune she recognized from her past. Since their trip to 1940s London Rose had found Glen Miller an almost comforting sound but as the jovial strains of In The Mood echoed around her she felt nothing but a deep gut wrenching fear.

Her mind was telling her to run, run back and wake the Doctor, the Doctor would know what to do but she knew she had to press on, to find out what was hurting them both and turning them into emotional wrecks. She kept her feet faced forward, noticing with alarm that the control room ahead was lit up as if it was in use. The whistling turned into proper music, so reminiscent of her favourite memory of the Doctor in his old form. She paused in the corridor, listening to the music before clutching the sonic screwdriver a little tighter and slowly putting one foot in front of the other.

As she reached the threshold of the stairs the room plunged into the ship's resting eerie green light and the music was replaced by silence. She took several cautious steps down the stairs but heard nothing in the cavernous room. She walked up to the console and ran a hand over the buttons.

"Whose been here girl?" she asked the central column, "Is someone here who shouldn't be?"

The console gave a series of beeps that sounded like a terrified affirmation and gave a small tremble. Rose moved her hand in what she hoped was a comforting motion on the ancient control panel.

"Show me girl."

The monitor flickered into life and Rose stared at the familiar pattern on the screen. The Doctor had shown her the life form monitor when they had been in the Lake District when he had demonstrated the manic patterns of the readings in the house. The screen today showed Rose her own life patterns, her anxiety elevated but reading normal and the Doctor's his heart rates elevated in the throes of his nightmare. Rose resisted the urge to run to him and comfort him, her attention was more focused on the third column. The column flashed an ominous red on the black back ground, only filled half way as if there was only half a person present. The column moved as erratically as she had seen it at the house in Penrith and Rose found herself glancing around the room in alarm, waiting to see the white face and staring eyes of Clarence Proctor.

The monitor dimmed and the TARDIS gave several distressed beeps.

"What is it?" said Rose, her voice barely reaching above a whisper. She froze as she heard the whistling start up again, in front of the console, beside the door. Rose slowly raised her head, the TARDIS beeping in alarm at her as her eyes settled upon the figure. She swallowed back the panic she could feel rising inside of her and clutched onto the metal surround of the console for support. The figure before her smiled and she felt herself give a tight smile back to him. She heard the rustle of leather on leather as he raised a hand to give her a small wave. She released the console and waved back.

"Hello Doctor."


	5. Along Ancient Lines

"Rose Tyler," came the response, his deep, sensual tones wrapping around her as she always remembered them doing, "You've cut your hair."

"You prefer it shorter now," said Rose, not quite believing she was having the conversation, "You've not changed at all."

"Why would I?" said the Doctor, "I wanted to stay the same for you, thought maybe you'd leave him if I didn't change."

"Him?" said Rose, gripping a little harder onto the console as he took a step towards her.

"You're pretty boy," said the Doctor, "That boy you're running round with these days."

Rose tried to give him what she thought was a disarming smile, "But he's you, you regenerated into him after you absorbed the Time Vortex. I know he's you, I saw you change."

"You saw what he told you to see, he isn't the Doctor."

Rose steeled herself as he came up to the console. The TARDIS began to beep wildly in alarm as he ran a hand over the buttons.

"Leave her alone," said Rose, resisting the urge to run round the console and slap his hands away, "She doesn't recognise you."

"Of course she does and so do you, don't you Rose?"

Rose cast her eyes to the floor, concentrating on the lights beneath the grate, "You're not real," she whispered, "I'm either dreaming or going mad but you're not real."

She jumped as she saw two booted feet arrive next to her out of the corner of her eye. A strong hand took hold of her chin and tilted her face up to his. She nearly lost herself in the deep blue eyes that held hers but she shut her eyes and willed the memory of chocolate eyes and black glasses to surface. She wrenched her face away from his grip and turned back to the console. She flipped the switch for the intercom and spoke into the microphone.

"Doctor," she said, "Doctor, wake up I need you."

She heard the muffled bemused yawn from the other end and then the sleep cracked voice, "Rose, what you doing on the com? Why aren't you here?"

"Can you come to the control room please?" she said, surprised that her voice wasn't shaking as the Doctor wandered back into her field of vision, playing with the switches on the console panel opposite her.

"Why, what's going on? Are you alright?"

"We have a guest."

Rose heard the muffled thump and curse as the Doctor's head connected with the wooden headboard.

"Who?" he said, his voice more alert than before.

"The Doctor," said Rose, swallowing back a sob, "The…old…Doctor."

Rose heard the scurry of the sheets and then the slam of the bedroom door before she cut off the com and turned her attention to the sound of running feet in the corridor. She saw the Doctor emerge in the doorway and suddenly realised how confusing the situation could now become. The Doctor looked around the console room and then shot Rose a quizzical look.

"Where?"

Rose cast her eyes over to where the old Doctor stood, still fiddling with the switches. She raised a hand and pointed at him, "Right there."

The Doctor took a step down into the console room and looked hard where she was pointing, "Rose there's no one there," he said, "Just the TARDIS. Are you alright?"

Rose looked between the two men, her head beginning to pound in confusion. The old Doctor gave her a triumphant smile and walked over to the man who had just entered. Stepping up onto the stairs behind him and then back down the other side. The new Doctor didn't even react, his eyes never leaving Rose.

"He's right by you," said Rose, her grip on control wavering dangerously, "He's standing right next to you."

The Doctor pivoted on his heel, his dressing gown flailing out around him. His arm passed through the leather clad chest next to him and Rose gasped. She stepped over and reached out to touch the northerner's arm, her fingers closing around the cool leather. She let out a sob.

"I can see him and I can touch him, why can't you? I swear he's there," said Rose.

"Darling there is no one there," said the Doctor, his hand closing around her outstretched arm that was reaching into nothingness.

"He is," said Rose, "Right there." She used her free hand to take the Doctor's from her arm and lay it on the other man's chest. The Doctor yelped in alarm as he felt the soft wool of the jumper beneath his palm when he could see nothing there. He tugged Rose away down the ramp to the console. He patted down his clothes, searching for the sonic screwdriver. Rose picked it up from the edge of the console and handed it to him. The little device spluttered and died in his hand. They both stared down at it in surprise but it was when Rose looked up that she cried out.

"He's gone," she said staring around the control room, "He's disappeared."

"I do not like this," said the Doctor running his hand through his fly away hair, "I felt it, there was someone there. The heart beat was…"

"Yours," said Rose, "It was you. You spoke to me and you touched me."

"Did he hurt you?" said the Doctor, holding her arms and looking her over. Rose frowned as the Doctor ran his hands over her, checking her for any injury.

"Of course not," said Rose, "He was just weird, a bit…off if you know what I mean. It was your old voice, your old body but…something wasn't right."

"How do you mean?"

Rose looked down at her hand to find the Doctor's automatically intertwined with her own, "He didn't take my hand," she said softly, "You always took my hand."

"Its alright," murmured the Doctor, pulling her close against his chest, "I'm going to find out what's happening and I'm going to stop it. What made you come out here anyway?"

"I heard footsteps outside your room, I came to investigate but there was no one here but the TARDIS showed me that someone else was onboard," said Rose turning to the console and speaking to the column, "Can you bring up those charts for me again?"

The monitor flicked up the life form measures once again, showing the Doctor and Rose's agitated states alongside the erratic red wave.

"Since when does she do what you tell her to?" said the Doctor, staring in amazement at the screen.

"Since I came on board after we beat the Slitheen at Downing Street, I was talking to her that night when you were pottering about somewhere in the ship and she answered me. I asked her where you were and she brought up a map to show me. I just assumed she did it for all your companions," said Rose.

"She's never done it for anyone other than me and most of the time she ignores me until I program it," said the Doctor pulling his glasses from his pocket and peering at the pattern on the screen, "That's not even registering as a proper life form, just a…something. The TARDIS can't get a proper lock on it. Can you see anyone in the room now Rose?"

Rose looked around her, comforted to see nothing more than the dimpled walls and long sloping support beams bathed in a comforting green light. She shook her head, quickly returning her gaze to the screen.

"Its weaker than it was when…he was here," she said, "Perhaps its moved somewhere."

The Doctor began to tap away at the keyboard, the monitor being filled with his intricate circular script before morphing into a blue print style map and showing a thin red trail leading from the control room to a room Rose was sure they had never used before. The Doctor seemed to hum in annoyance before he tapped away again, the same information returning to the screen a moment later.

"That can't be right," he muttered.

"What can't be right?"

"The TARDIS says the main focus of the energy is in the Cloister Room."

"The what room?"

"The Cloister Room it…oh no matter what it is, the thing is I haven't used that room since the war, there's nothing in there, nothing, zero, absolutely nothing but an empty room, no power source, no light, no sound, for all I know no damn gravity. I haven't been in there since…a very long time ago but now something had taken up residence and the one thing I don't like is squatters."

The Doctor picked up the sonic screwdriver and placed it and his glasses in the pocket of his navy blue dressing gown. He flicked off the monitor and took Rose's hand more firmly in his. He turned towards the TARDIS interior and began to lead her down the winding corridors. Rose pulled her dressing gown a little tighter around herself as they went deeper and deeper, the corridors becoming unfamiliar and in a more gothic style to the familiar metal grills of the main habitation rooms. She felt the Doctor's hand squeeze hers a little tighter.

"You alright there?"

"Yeah, just a bit jumpy, I've never been this far in before," she said gripping onto his arm and pressing herself to his side.

"You can go back if you want."

"And leave you to confront yourself, probably the two blokes most likely to rip each other to shreds," said Rose, "No fear. Two of you running round here is bad enough let alone another regeneration."

The Doctor pulled her to a halt outside a beautifully ornate door. The deep ebony coloured wood was inlaid with a intricate silver filigree that shimmered in the dim light of the corridor. Two strange, beast like heads peered out from each door, holding two large handles in their teeth. Rose reached out a hand to trace one of them, almost expecting it to come alive under her touch. She wandered if she was standing in front of some extinct beast of Gallifrey or the effigy of a myth from the Doctor's home world.

"This is the entrance to the Cloister Room," said the Doctor, taking an old fashioned flame torch from its holder and pulling a lighter from his pocket. He held the lighter to the rag tied at the end and it jumped into life.

"Haven't you got any lights in there?" asked Rose, wandering why something so prehistoric could feature in the TARDIS.

"Its always been lit by candle light, it's the way it should be," said the Doctor softly, reaching out for the door. Rose's question was cut of as he pushed the doors open and the dark expanse of the room rushed out to greet her. She felt the Doctor hesitate beside her and found his hand once again, giving it a reassuring squeeze. He took a breath before stepping over the threshold, taking each measured step slowly, sweeping the torch back and forth, illuminating the room. Rose gasped as the room was revealed in places, high ornate ceilings and cathedral like windows surrounded a strange, open circular altar in the middle of the floor. A long staircase swept upwards before reaching a balcony and then splitting in two to create to raised pulpit-like structures.

The Doctor led her over to the wall and used the torch he carried to light several more, the light from them dispersing the darkness but casting deep, tall shadows on the opposite wall. He paused for a while his eyes coasting over the scene before him. Rose felt the need to keep silent and made little protest when he let go of her hand and moved over to the central altar structure. He took hold of one of the elegant sceptres that stood at each corner of the raised square base. He leant his head against it and stared at the open space on the altar. He closed his eyes and stayed still for a long while, so much so that Rose thought he must have fallen asleep. His voice was almost distant when he finally spoke.

"This place once held one of the greatest powers in the universe," he said, seemingly talking to himself and Rose at the same time, "It was called the Eye of Harmony by my people but I think a friend of mine had the right idea, she called it the Eye of Destruction and that's what it proved to be."

Rose watched on as the Doctor left the sceptre and sat down on the edge of the altar, running his hand over the carved patterns at the edge.

"I never did what they told me; the Time Lords. I was always right, they were always wrong but as I got older I realised maybe being at home with them was not such a bad thing. I went back to Gallifrey when I regenerated into my eighth incarnation, the one before the me you met. I wanted to make amends for everything that had passed over the years. My nemesis had perished in a battle between us and I felt the pull of home all the stronger after his death. I had adventures of course, took a couple of companions along but I was closer to my people. Then the War came."

Rose took several steps closer but stopped short of stepping onto the altar, something telling her that she was not yet worthy of approaching what was before her without invitation. She waited for the Doctor to continue.

"The Daleks had been around for generations, I don't think I have had an incarnation that has not encountered them in one way or another, they're as much a part of my life as the air I breathe, the necessity of them in my existence is the same as the necessity of death. I could have destroyed them, oh so long ago, I could have ended it all like that."

The click of the Doctor's fingers echoed around the cavernous space, bouncing and echoing before dying out and leaving the room silent once more.

"But I didn't, I failed the mission the Time Lords had sent me on because I could not destroy a species in its infancy, a choice that came back to haunt me. The Dalek threat became apparent too swiftly for us to react to and before we knew it we were embroiled in a war to end all wars. So many planets were effected, too weak to fight the Dalek force. They looked to us for help, the great Time Lords. I was called home and called to the audience of my government. I was given instructions and told to obey them if the time came. The War raged and I fought alongside my people. Gradually one by one our strongholds fell until the battle was brought to our home planet and we were over run. I was at the final battle, alongside the Presidential Guard, charged with guarding the life of the President herself. We knew that we could not win but to lose meant the destruction of the universe at the will of the Daleks. For my President, for my universe I took the TARDIS and flew towards our sun and with a prayer to the god I never believed in I carried out the only orders I had ever obeyed. I bought peace with the lives of my kind."

"Doctor," said Rose reaching a hand out to him but he did not turn to look at her.

"Here is all that remains of that day Rose, all that remains of the power I unleashed. When a sun is destroyed it implodes, eventually becomes a black hole; that was not to be the fate of our sun. I released the Eye of Harmony and it tumbled into our sun's core and the explosion was like nothing ever witnessed before. I watched for a moment, the whole planet engulfed in flame and the Dalek fleet meeting the same fate before they too were scattered to atoms. The wave hit the TARDIS and I welcomed death…I awoke the following day to find myself anew and my home world no more. Now you know what I have kept hidden for so long, what happened that black day."

"Darling," murmured Rose, tentatively stepping up to the altar and laying a hand on his shoulder. She knelt down beside him and pulled him into her arms, "You don't have to bear that alone now. Thank you for telling me, it means so much that you trust me enough to tell me."

Silence reigned for a moment and all Rose could hear was the Doctor's measured breathing, as if in sleep. She felt him move and watched as he blinked in the dim light of the room.

The Doctor looked up at her, a small smile forming on his features as he realised her presence, "Hello, where've you been hiding?"

Rose frowned but shook away the questions that raised in her mind, she should have realised that something was amiss when the Doctor began to wilfully talk of the War. She wondered if she had revealed anything to him without realising it as fatigue and worry caused them both to forget themselves. The edges of reality were blurring around them and confronting him about his moving confession if he had no recollection of it would prove too much for them both right now. She realised he was looking to her for an answer, "Right beside you," she said softly, "Where I always will be. Now come on, don't we have a power source to find?"

The Doctor pulled the sonic screwdriver from his pocket and began to scan the area surrounding the former resting place of the Eye of Harmony. The beeps emitted from the tiny device increased in gradual frequency, leading him away from the altar and towards the stairs. They began to climb slowly and eventually came to the raised platform. Rose noticed with some surprise that autumnal leaves gathered around their ankles as they walked but she could get no where further with the thought as the Doctor pulled her onwards to a concealed stairway that could not be seen from the door. Rose shuddered as she looked at the stone, spiral steps, her thoughts already forming around those of haunted castles and unseen enemies. The Doctor tugged her onwards, pausing only to grab another torch from the wall and lighting it. The shadows retreated from the stairs but only to the next turn.

Rose swallowed hard, "Why exactly do you have a place as spooky as that in here?"

"I'm not the only person to have lived in this TARDIS and I've never explored all the rooms. I've never been up this way before so I've had no need to change it. Just stay close, the TARDIS will keep us safe," said the Doctor giving her a reassuring smile.

"Is that the same TARDIS that no one is meant to be able to get aboard without your say so?" said Rose, her lip twitching into a half smile.

"She would never let anything hurt you Rose," said the Doctor as they began their ascent. The shadows kept retreating as they climbed but that did not stop Rose's heart thumping wildly, fearing an unseen enemy around every bend. She tried to keep telling herself she was in the TARDIS, that she was safe but even the Doctor's firm hand in hers brought little comfort. The old gypsy had been right, the TARDIS was Rose's sanctuary but that sanctuary had been invaded and now nowhere seemed safe.

"Well would you look at that?" said the Doctor, pushing aside a hanging cloth to reveal the room behind. The room was a dusty old library, books as ancient as the TARDIS itself by the state of their disrepair piled high on the floor and squashed into innumerable shelves that surrounded the room. A large mahogany desk surrounded by three high, ornate chairs stood in the very centre, it too piled high with books.

"Wow," said Rose, "Doctor heaven or what?"

"I'll say, I could lose myself in here for days."

"Please don't," said Rose, reluctantly releasing his hand as he pulled the sonic screwdriver from his pocket once again. The little device began beeping again as the Doctor moved into the room. As he stepped onto a threadbare rug by the fireplace the sonic screwdriver gave a little beep of affirmative and the Doctor knelt down to pull back the rug.

"Oh dear, that's not very good is it?" he muttered, stepping back with a look of half disgust, half fear on his face.

"What?" said Rose coming to his side and peering at the floor he had just revealed, "What's so wrong with that?"

Before her lay a five pointed star within a circle carved on the wood of the floor. She peered closer to see an eye carved in the centre of the intersecting lines of the star. It looked precise, not some random carving but something of importance.

"Is that some sort of Time Lord religious symbol or something?"

"Its sort of religious," said the Doctor, placing the torch in a holder on the wall before running a hand through his hair in agitation, "But its not Time Lord."

"Human?" said Rose.

"It goes way further back than humanity, way further back than Gallifrey even, this is very ancient magic and its not good at all."

"Then what is it?" said Rose, the Doctor's usual cryptic description leaving her more on edge than ever.

"I don't know," said the Doctor, "But that symbol was being used long before even my people were walking upright. Most religions have adopted it along the lines somewhere. Even several of the Time Lord faiths have it featuring somewhere but never anywhere near the importance that would cause a Time Lord to carve it into their floor. Humans have it too, in Wiccan both black and white it features in its way, the Masons used something similar and the Illuminati."

"The Illuminati?" said Rose with a poorly concealed laugh, "They're just make believe."

"Now wouldn't that make things a lot more simple on Earth," said the Doctor, "Would have stopped a lot of trouble and saved me a lot of aggro but anyway, we digress. Why do I have an ancient symbol than can cause a hell of a lot of trouble in the wrong hands carved into my floor?"

"Do you know who lived in the TARDIS before you?"

"No idea," said the Doctor honestly, "Gaining a TARDIS is not like buying a house, you don't swap deeds and forward on mail. Besides, the TARDIS didn't come to me in a conventional manner, it just sort of…fell into my hands."

"Did you nick it?" said Rose incredulously.

"I didn't exactly nick it, I just…borrowed it, without asking," said the Doctor, the slight blush on his cheeks hidden by the shadows of the room. He turned to the desk and began to rifle through the papers there, "Rose start looking through those books there, see if you can find anything relating to what we're experiencing. Leave the Gallifreyan texts if you can't understand them, the TARDIS isn't likely to translate it. Any other language should translate for you though."

Rose nodded and settled on one of the ornate chairs. She picked up the nearest book and began to scan it, looking up every few minutes to see the Doctor, still on his feet as he peered at the papers strewn before him. Rose had never been more glad for the off key tones of the Doctor's quiet singing as he sat down and worked after several torturous minutes of silence. Nothing in the books, even the ones the TARDIS translated, shed any light on their predicament and Rose waited in vain for the Doctor to announce the task fruitless and move on to something more productive.

His sudden exclamation made Rose jump out of her skin. Hand over her fluttering heart she shot the Doctor an accusatory stare but he didn't notice, too engrossed in the large map he was studying.

"Now this is interesting," he said walking his fingers up the map, "Very interesting indeed."

"Are you going to elaborate or am I meant to guess?" said Rose, the atmosphere and the shock adding unwanted venom to her voice.

The Doctor looked up at her, a mixture of amusement and hurt in his eyes at her words. He beckoned her over to his side and she slipped without complaint onto his legs when the space was offered. She looked down at the map on the desk, recognising the outline of Great Britain but confused by the lines crossing and intersecting across it.

"What does it mean?"

"It's a study of Lay Lines," said the Doctor, "The ancients of your people believed there were lines of power beneath the earth that gave certain areas power. Most places where myths grew up they supposed there were Lay Lines, Dartmoor, the Yorkshire Moors, places like that."

"But you said all myths had a natural explanation, like peat bogs being Banshees," said Rose, watching as his slim fingers traced the lines as he spoke.

"Yes, a natural explanation but not always a terrestrial one," he said, his finger tracing a path along a line towards the West of the country and coming to a circular scribble. Rose looked to him for a translation of the Gallifreyan text and he gave her a knowing smile, "Cardiff."

"Rifts!" cried Rose, cringing as her voice echoed in the room, "You mean what people thought were power lines were rifts."

"Mm hmm," said the Doctor, "Most have closed now but several are still strong, the one in Cardiff and the one going up here."

His finger moved over the map and came to rest by another scribbled circle.

"Crewe," he said before tracing a little further down, "And just a little lower down a place we unfortunately know very well."

"Where?" said Rose.

"Penrith," said the Doctor, "A strong rift runs right through the centre of Penrith and I will bet you entire month of washing up that the Proctor house lies right on top of it. I'm gonna look a bit more into this, whoever lived here before was really into the science of the Occult so I've got a lot to go on. Go and have a look through those books again and see if you can find anything on rift faults or phenomena, I have a feeling we might not be dealing with the spirit world after all."

Rose returned to her task but could find nothing of particular relevance. The Doctor on the other hand seemed deeply involved with the text balanced on his knees as he scribbled away on a pad he'd pulled from his dressing gown pocket. Rose wondered what else he could possibly keep in there. She shivered slightly as a cool breeze went up her back but looking over her shoulder she saw nothing but the overstuffed book shelves. Her movement caught the Doctor's attention and he looked up at her over his glasses.

"You al…"

"Doctor?" said Rose noticing the colour drain from his face and his eyes focus behind her, "Doctor, what's wrong?"

"Turn around Rose, tell me what you see," said the Doctor, his eyes not leaving the space behind her. Rose turned in her chair but nothing greeted her sight but the same scene as before.

"Just a wall and book shelves," she said, "What can you see Doctor?"

The Doctor pulled off his glasses and rubbed his eyes before blinking up at the sight again. He couldn't disguise the tremble in his voice, "Reinette," he whispered, "Is standing right behind you."

Rose shot up out of her chair and rushed to the Doctor's side, peering into the shadowy light of the bookcase but still not seeing anything. She laid a hand on the Doctor's shoulder, partly in comfort and partly in possession as she imagined the only woman she ever considered a threat to her standing beside the bookcase. She rubbed the Doctor's shoulder, trying to shake him out of the silence that had come over him.

"Speak to her," said Rose, "I could speak to the…him, before."

"I can't," said the Doctor, "She can't be real."

"Speak to her Doctor," said Rose, "Ask her why she's there."

Rose stumbled as the Doctor quickly sprung to his feet, sonic screwdriver in his hand. He went over to where he had said the figure was and began scanning the area. A frown creased his brow as he studied the readings, muttering to himself.

"She's here," he said softly, "Why can't you see her? Why can't Rose see you?"

Rose felt the pressure in her ears as if an aircraft had just taken flight but it only lasted until the Doctor spoke again.

"What do you mean?"

Rose stood for several moments, her hearing alternating between the Doctor's one sided conversation and the pressure in her ears. Gleaning nothing from the Doctor's questioning to explain anymore than he could see the figure of the French woman in the space occupied only by thin air and that she was talking to him. The Doctor kept talking but beckoned Rose over to his side. She was grateful for the warmth of his hand as it curled around her own, squeezing gently. She noticed for the first time since the Doctor had seen her appear that he had not reached out to touch the woman who had nearly come between them. He took Rose's hand as she had done in the control room before and laid it at the height Reinette's shoulder would have been. Rose whimpered as she felt the cool, smooth skin and the elegant beading and silk of Reinette's dress. She tried to pull her hand away but the Doctor held her firm.

"Can you feel her?"

Rose nodded. The Doctor let go of her hand and the sensation disappeared from beneath her finger tips.

"And now?"

"No, she's gone," said Rose.

"But I can still see her," said the Doctor laying his own hand where Rose's had been, "And I can still touch her."

Rose resisted her urge to snatch his hand away as his fingers tightened and relaxed against the other woman's shoulder. The Doctor pulled his hand away, his fingers instantly seeking Rose's. He turned away from the space Reinette occupied and walked back to the desk.

"It's a manifestation of some sort," he said, sitting back down but not raising his eyes to the space beside the bookcase, "The only validation of her existence is me. You can't see her or touch her without doing it through me. When my hand is on yours I'm connected to you and I can make you touch her, the same way you held my hand against the figure you saw in the control room."

"So we're imagining them and they're there?" asked Rose, backing away from the bookcase again.

"Not consciously," said the Doctor, "Something is taking old thoughts and translating them into a reality of some sorts but I have no idea what."

Rose returned to the Doctor's side and pulled his arms about her waist, leaning down to rest her head against his. She felt him move as he looked up again and stared at the bookcase opposite.

"She's gone," he muttered tightening his arms around her middle, "As if she was never there."


	6. Voyage to the Unknown

They held on to each other a long while after the apparition of Reinette had disappeared. Rose was unsure whether to comfort the Doctor or slap him. He had said that he had created the manifestation of the French Courtesan which meant that he was still thinking of her and Rose was hurt; she had thought they had got passed the presence of her in their relationship many months before. The only thing that stilled her hand was the assumption that she had therefore created the manifestation of the Doctor in his old form, meaning her thoughts still lingered on the man she had formerly loved. Her consciousness argued that at least the two Doctor's were in essence the same man but Rose knew that on rare occasions she would lie in bed beside the man she knew now and trace his boyish features, imagining them as if they were that of his old face.

"Rose?"

"Mmm?" said Rose, finding herself automatically fussing the flyaway strands of his hair.

"I'm sorry," said the Doctor looking up at her, "I'm sorry it was her that came to us, I know you…"

Rose laid a finger against his lips, "Its alright. Come on, we should get on. We need to find out what's going on here and get our lives back."

The Doctor stood and pulled her tight against him, letting out a sigh when Rose hugged him back, nuzzling into the soft material of his dressing gown. He brought up a hand to stroke her hair, running his fingers through the golden strands. Rose tried to turn her head up to look at him as his hands stopped their gentle dance.

"Doctor? Is there someone else here?"

"No," he said turning her face up to his, "I just thought of something but its impossible, I'm clutching at straws when I should be looking for facts."

"You always do well clutching at straws most of the time," said Rose, smiling up at him before pulling his glasses from his pocket and settling them back on his face. She leaned up and pressed a kiss to his lips, "Come on then, these books won't read themselves."

"Now there would be an invention," said the Doctor as Rose turned back to the books on the table, "Can you imagine it, books that could read themselves? Although what would be the point in a book reading, its inanimate but still…"

Rose chuckled to herself as she turned her attentions to a page dedicated to the calling up of the spirits of dead household pets as the Doctor continued his ramble.

XXXX

The sound of soft snoring finally made the Doctor raise his head from his studies. He smiled as he saw Rose face down on the desk, her hand still clutched around the edge of the book she was reading. Her blonde hair haloed out around her, masking her from the room's gaze. He stretched out, feeling his spine pop and fatigue from sitting still for so long settling into his limbs. He rubbed the back of his neck, trying to work out several of the knots he found there. He cast a glance around the room until his eyes fell upon an old fashioned suite partially covered by a dust sheet, a design he knew was native to his planet at least a hundred years before his birth apparent where the sheet had fallen away.

He got to his feet and pulled back the dust sheet, content to find the sofa clean enough to provide a suitable bed for his sleeping companion. He turned back to the desk and walked round, gently coaxing Rose to sitting before lifting her into his arms. Even in sleep she curled into him instinctively and murmured his name against his neck. He hushed her softly, not wanting to rouse her from what he was glad was a comforting dream rather than what had recently haunted her. He lay her down on the couch, pillowing her head on the now inside out dust sheet. She curled up and shivered slightly, prompting him to take off his dressing gown and lay it over her, tucking it around her small frame. He leant down and pressed a kiss to her forehead.

Rose whimpered in her sleep and reached out for him. The Doctor glanced over to the pile of books awaiting his attention but decided five minutes would not hurt if only to bring her some comfort. He settled himself on the wooden floor beside the couch and took her hand, humming softly to her as his free hand stroked her hair. He found his eyelids drooping in the dim room and pillowed his head on the expanse beside her arm, promising himself to only close his eyes for five minutes.

XXXX

"Grandfather! Grandfather! Don't leave me!"

"Goodbye Susan, goodbye my dear."

"Goodbye then Doctor."

"Goodbye Sarah."

"How can you miss me? I'm the guy with two hearts remember?"

"You know what I mean."

"I was much better off as a coward."

"Its you and him, always has been."

The Doctor fought to open his eyes as the farewells of so many companions echoed in his mind. Susan begging him not to go, Sarah-Jane forbidden from joining him on Gallifrey, Grace refusing his offer to journey to the stars, Jack's kiss before running off into battle, Mickey's acceptance that he could never be a true part of what Rose and the Doctor had together when he chose to stay in the parallel world. So many voices beginning so many nightmares. The Doctor willed himself to wake. 

He sat up, feeling his breathing ragged and misting in the cold air. He looked around himself, not recognising his surroundings but then the memory of the room came to him. He looked beside him on the large four poster bed but Rose was missing from his side. The single burning candle on the dresser was the only thing to illuminate the room, highlighting the 19th century furniture of Grace Howes bedroom. He focused his eyes on the familiar flickering red light in the corner and waited for the girl to manifest herself before him. Slowly her form became apparent, the familiar black light on shadow fading to grey at her hands and face. She looked as beautiful as he remembered from his final meeting with her in the TARDIS but then her angelic face creased into a silent scream of utter terror. The Doctor hurried to his feet, shocked to find himself in his brown pinstripes and converse. His path to Grace was halted in alarm as bright red blood, contrary to the black and white image he saw began to run down her face, flowing unchecked into her eyes and mouth as she screamed.

She fell to her knees at his feet, gripping onto his coat and covering him in thick blood stains, clawing him down to her level. He knelt beside her, taking her head in his hands and trying to see where the blood was coming from. He tried to speak, to ask her what had happened but despite his mouth moving no sound came out. Grace clung to him like he was the only thing left in the world, shuddering in his arms as her breath came ragged against his neck.

"Help me!" was the rasped sound in his ear, "Save me!"

He tried to ask how but again nothing but silence came to him. He wanted to cry out as she took hold of his head, digging her nails into him in her madness and desperation.

"He comes still, comes to us. He will come to you too, come to you as he came to Clarence and play upon your nightmares, turn you against your loved ones. He comes to her, to the blonde child in your bed."

The Doctor felt himself wrenched to his feet by the tiny woman in his arms and turned towards where the bed had been. He saw the forgotten library above the Cloister Room and Rose sleeping silently on the couch, his own body by her side, clutching her hand. A figure appeared at the edge of the bed, a silhouette he knew from his own reflection long ago. His old form bent down over the sleeping girl, running a hand over her hair. The image flickered, fading from his form to that of the nightmares that haunted the Doctor still, the image of the Gelth, the Editor, a gas masked child, a Cyberman, the Beast. The Doctor tried to shut his eyes against the image but the press of Grace's nails in his hair stilled his movement.

"They haunt her to harm her, to make her abandon you. She is weaker, cannot fight the manifestations. Even you are weakening, the images you have seen, they will call to you but you must not go to them else you will end up like me."

"I will save you," said the Doctor, shocked to hear his own voice, measured and strong, "I will free you."

"Unless you have the strength of a thousand you cannot."

"I have the strength of more. What harms you Grace? Clarence?"

"Clarence was as much a victim as I, possessed when he dabbled in a world not his own for answers he was not meant to know."

"The Rift?"

"The Lay Lines, the ancient lines of blood in the land. They call us to them."

"To who?" said the Doctor, "To who Grace, who calls to you?"

Grace's hands left him and he whirled round in time to see her run from the bedroom, the image of Rose fading from view. He took after her, running down the dark corridor with its gothic fashions and freezing atmosphere. He heard the shot of a gun and the slam of the door before seeing the image he had never wanted to see again. Grim, black eyes stared at him in hatred as blood soaked hands reached out to grab him, closing around his throat and over powering him in a second. The Doctor struggled to breathe, falling to his knees as his strength failed him. He tried in vain to free himself from Clarence's grip but nothing he could do was enough to free him. He felt his consciousness slipping and all he could think of was Rose, how she would never know the peril she was in. How she would be alone in the TARDIS with no chance of piloting her home as she rested in the vortex. Alone with the maddening images of his old form and her father haunting her every move in the malevolent entities wish to destroy her very grip on reality to bend her to its will. If he lived he could find the answer, find what creature could be summoned from the darkness to wreak such pain. If he could live.

XXXX

The Doctor gasped in a breath as he forced open his eyes. He blinked away the final blurs of sleep and took in his surroundings, the smell of the burning torch, the gentle sigh of Rose's sleeping breaths, the feel of her satin soft skin against his palm. He extracted his hand from her grip and pushed back his hair, feeling the perspiration on his forehead and the tears on his face. He patted himself down, feeling the familiar material of his pyjamas rather than the cotton of his suit. He looked for the blood stains he knew had been left on him before searching his hair for the cuts from Grace's nails. Nothing met him that was out of the ordinary. He took several deep shuddering breaths, holding his hands over his hearts and feeling their erratic thumps against his palm.

"A dream, a dream," he muttered to himself, "Just a dream."

He turned his attention to Rose, checking her for any injuries and finding her sleeping soundly, curled into the warmth of his dressing gown. She smiled sweetly in her sleep, murmuring his name before moaning in a way he only ever heard when they were in more pleasant surroundings than a dingy old library. Her unguarded dream brought a small, quirk of a smile to his lips but he still could not dispel the terror of his nightmare. Grace had tried to warn him of the danger but he could not run, it had hold of him and Rose and he had to defeat it. He searched his memory for anything with the power to do this to him especially. There were many alien viruses and influences that could take Rose's mind but to penetrate his own subconscious and the heart of his TARDIS had to be a power greater than anything he had ever encountered.

Grace had confirmed his theory about the Rifts, the Lay Lines and their mystical powers tempting Clarence into a practice that had ultimately caused his and his family's demise. He glanced over at the Pentacle carved on the floor of his TARDIS. He knew before true order was bought to his people many Time Lords dabbled into the unknown, searching for truth as was always their desire but coming across terror and destruction in that pursuit. He cursed himself for never checking through the entirety of the TARDIS but something told him this room could have only been found when it was needed.

He looked back down at Rose and she moaned in delight and curled a little tighter into the scent of his dressing gown. His smile was stilled this time as he realised the journey that lay before them. They would have to go back, travel to Penrith in the time when Clarence lived and his practices could be observed, perhaps that held the key to solving the mystery surrounding them. He bent over the sleeping girl and pressed a kiss to her cheek.

"Wake up for me love," he whispered in her ear, "Open your eyes."

Rose stirred as he rubbed her back gently, keeping close to her so that she wasn't alarmed when she woke in the eerie surroundings of the library. Her eyelashes fluttered, casting dusky shadows across her cheeks that the Doctor gently traced with kisses. She hummed contently, waking but keeping her eyes closed; enjoying the play of his warm breath against her skin. She pouted lightly and he took the invitation, pressing a light kiss to her lips. Her arms came up around his shoulders and he held her waist as he pulled her up to sitting, her head coming to rest on his shoulder. She turned her face into his neck and stayed quiet and close for a while, refusing to open her eyes to the room she knew they occupied and accept the reality of their situation for a while longer. The Doctor quickly caught on and shut his eyes, resting his cheek against her hair.

"We're on a beach," he murmured softly, hearing her giggle lightly against him, "Miles away from anyone and anything. All we can hear is the waves gently lapping the shore and all we can feel is the sand and the sun and each other. That gorgeous little pink bikini of yours is stuck in the palm tree above us where I threw it when you proved to be far too much of a tease…"

"Bet you're still in your suit though," said Rose, squeezing him a little tighter.

"Well one of us has to retain a little decorum," said the Doctor, feeling her eyelids flutter against him and knowing the harsh light of reality would soon crash on to the woman in his arms, "Sorry I woke you but we do have things to do now."

"Have you worked out what's going on?" said Rose, pulling back enough to look at him.

"Not yet," said the Doctor, "But I can find out. We have to…"

"What?" said Rose as the Doctor trailed off.

He gave her a mournful look, "If I could risk it I would take you home now, have you safe and go on alone until all this is sorted," said the Doctor, feeling Rose's arms tighten around him in alarm about being left behind, "But I can't risk leaving you anywhere alone, this thing is in our heads and I can't leave you to suffer on your own with people who won't understand. Rose, my darling Rose, this is going to be difficult; I don't know what we're up against but I know where we have to go to find out."

"Where?" said Rose, relaxing slightly as she realised she would not be threatened with being left on Earth while her fought on.

"Penrith, eighteen forty-two; just before Grace and the family die. There is a connection to all this in that house. I dreamed…I had a vision of Grace, while you were sleeping and she told me that Clarence had dabbled in something to do with the Lay Lines and released something that caused him to descend into the madness that claimed his family. I need to go back to when he began practicing, see the rituals or whatever it was he did. Perhaps then I can fathom out what is really going on here and why it has chosen to destroy us."

He felt Rose shudder but then she sat up straight and stared into his eyes, "I'm not afraid," she said, her voice betraying her slightly as it quivered, "I know you'll figure it out, you always do and if we need to go there for you to do that then I'll be right beside you."

"That's my girl," said the Doctor, pressing a kiss to her lips, "My brilliant Rose Tyler. Come on, we've got to get moving. To be honest with you, I want to get this done and defeated as soon as possible. I want to be able to get some proper sleep again."

Rose let him help her to her feet before taking one final glance around the room. She knew as soon as this was over she would beg him to close up the Cloister Room forever, lock away the haunted memories of Reinette's ghost and the remembrance of the Time War that so struck him in his trance like state when they arrived. She heard him remove the torch from its holder before his hand closed around hers.

"Come on."

XXXX

For once the sound of the central column working away as the TARDIS took them to their destination didn't fill Rose with the glee of adventure. She sat fidgeting in the pilot's chair, the corset of her black, Victorian mourning attire digging into her ribs and making her feel all the more sombre. The Doctor struck a similar sombre figure. Any other time she would have admired how the tailored black suit fitted his slim frame but with the knowledge of their destination at the forefront of her mind and the story he had given her to stick to to get them inside the house playing and replaying in her head she could not even begin to find joy in their adventure. She glanced down at her hand, resisting the urge to fiddle with the simple gold band on her wedding finger. The shock that had taken her when the Doctor had turned to her and offered her a wedding band when they had been changing had soon been dispersed when he told her that she would have to pretend they were married to ensure they could stay together throughout their time in Penrith.

The Doctor planned to get them into the Proctor house as guests. They would masquerade as a fashionable married couple from London travelling north for the funeral of Rose's departed father but they had been beset by troubles with their coach and could not get one from the village until the morning. With no room at the local inn they had been forced to seek shelter with residents only to be turned away until the Proctor house had been the one left to apply to. Rose hated the fact that she would have to play the delicate Victorian waif, fainting in remorse and fatigue when Clarence would undoubtedly turn them away but they had to ensure they could get into the house.

Rose felt the TARDIS shudder as it landed at their destination. The Doctor was silent at the monitor, ensuring their trip had been successful before going to the door and poking his head outside. He turned back with a semi-triumphant grin.

"All present and correct, we're about half a mile down from the house and about an hour away from sunset. We'll have to wait around a bit."

"Fine," said Rose, a little sharper than she intended, sleep deprivation and fear causing a black mood to settle over her, "Sorry."

"Its alright," said the Doctor, "You're tired."

Rose nodded before beckoning him over. He came willingly and took her hands in his, his fingers automatically running over the band on her finger. He smiled down at it, tracing it more deliberately.

"Suits you," he murmured, "Mrs Smith."

"That sounds so weird," said Rose her own eyes drawn to the thicker band on his finger, "I always thought if I was gonna become Mrs Smith I would have to marry Mickey."

The Doctor hissed in mock disgust, "Ah yes, hadn't thought of that and I really don't want you thinking about your ex while pretending to be married to me. I know, I'll be Doctor Tyler. Hmm, I quite like that and I did tell Mary that I was Doctor Tyler last time we were in Penrith. I think I could take that as an alias for a while, Doctor John Tyler; Doctor and Mrs Tyler. Never say I'm not a modern man, taking my wife's name."

Rose couldn't help but smile at his ramble, gently stroking back his hair from his eyes, "It does suit you, Doctor Tyler. I'm gonna completely bugger things up though, I don't know whether I can call you John all the time."

"Well you could be all repressed and refer to me as Doctor Tyler, one of those women who marry and never call their husbands by their Christian name, even in the bedroom," said the Doctor laying his forehead to hers, "Although, the noises you make in the bedroom I don't think anyone can call you repressed."

"Its what you do to me darling," said the Rose, feeling the world around her disappear as his hands left hers to trace her curves through the material of her dress, "You know exactly how to make me scream."

"Oh do I now," said the Doctor dipping his head to kiss the small area of her neck not covered by her high lacy collar, "I wanna rip you out of that dress right now."

"Easy tiger," murmured Rose, leaning her head back as he dragged his lips across her throat.

"Tell me you don't want me and I'll stop," he said, smiling against her as she yelped in surprise, feeling his hand miraculously find its way beneath her heavy skirt to trace her stocking clad legs.

"I never lie," said Rose, closing her eyes in contentment as he traced torturously slow circles on her thigh, "God you can do that forever you know."

"I quite fancied getting a little higher," said the Doctor, "But if you want me to stay…"

"Highers good," squeaked Rose a little too quickly as his fingers traced the lacy edge of her underwear.

"You're the only Victorian I know who wears such scandalously small knickers under all this get up. How very suffragette of you, trend setter are we?"

"Well being a trend setter would imply that other people would get to see said trend," said Rose, amazed as always at how they were able to hold a rational conversation while his hand traced such delicious patterns on the tops of her thighs. She squeaked as his hand quickly pulled aside her underwear, "But the only person who is ever going to get to see it is you. So…"

"So its best that I make the most of my position," said the Doctor as Rose moaned in delight, "God I love it when you sound like that."

"Only for you my…"

Rose was cut off by the frantic beeps from the TARDIS. Rose's eyes shot open, ignoring the Doctor's muffled command to ignore it. Across from the TARDIS she saw the stormy features of her old Doctor, hatred shooting from him towards the man Rose held in her arms. Without a second thought Rose pushed the Doctor away before turning her gaze away from the apparition.

"Rose?" said the Doctor, shocked at the force she used against him.

"He's here," she muttered, quickly adjusting her dress and smoothing her hands over her blushing cheeks, "He's staring right at me."

"Who?"

"The Doctor," said Rose, refusing to look up even when she heard the Doctor turn to look around the console room. The TARDIS beeped again more gently and Rose tentatively raised her eyes, blinking back tears as she realised that the figure had disappeared once more. She choked on a sob, "He's gone now."

The Doctor moved over to her, holding his arms open in invitation, "Are you alright?"

Rose slipped from the seat but didn't go to his embrace, instead turning to the TARDIS interior and walking up the stairs, "I'm just gonna…I've got to…"

She didn't finish her sentence, hurrying her steps down the corridor.

"Rose wait!" called the Doctor but her hurried footsteps already echoed far ahead. He grabbed the console in agitation, looking around once more for the apparition that had frightened her. The irrational jealousy that she had pushed him away when his old form had appeared to her niggling at his consciousness but he pressed it down, remembering Grace's warning that whatever entity was plaguing them thrived to pull apart even the closest bond. His eyes caught the glitter of the wedding band on his hand and he hurriedly pulled it off his finger before throwing it against the nearest wall, hearing the clang of metal on metal as it echoed around the control room.

XXXX

The Doctor hammered on the door of the Proctor house for the second time, keeping Rose close to him as she shuddered in the sudden rain storm. The thunder crashed over head and Rose shrieked in alarm, clutching a little tighter to his jacket.

"At least this makes it less likely that they'll turn us away," she said, trying to keep her voice light and dispel the dark mood that had seemed to settle over the Doctor.

"Just remember to faint if they start getting difficult," said the Doctor, "And try to make it convincing, nothing too dramatic, we're not in a Hammer Horror."

"Alright I know," she said, "I'm hardly gonna start going all Kate Bush on you and start wheeling about in the rain."

"Sshh," he hissed as they heard footsteps coming to the door. The door clicked and creaked open a crack, revealing a young, dark haired woman the Doctor instantly recognised as Grace.

"May I help you?"

"May I see the master of the house please?"

"On what business?" said Grace, clearly distrusting of strangers, "Mister Proctor isn't expecting guests and he won't help charity so if you're begging you'd best go too."

"Mister Proctor won't be expecting us miss," said the Doctor, "We are looking for some shelter with you for the night. We have been travelling north to a small village no more than fifteen miles off but our coach has broken a wheel and shan't be fixed till morning. We did apply to the local tavern but they have no space and no resident in the village will take us, we have nowhere to go and my…sister is ill and weak with grief. We are going to our father's funeral, we've have travelled all the way from London but our journey has been hard."

Grace's eyes fell upon Rose and then back up to the Doctor, taking in their greatly differing looks, her brow furrowing slightly in confusion, "I'll go and ask but I cannot promise you a favourable response, despite your situation. Wait here."

The door shut once more and Rose dropped her façade of the silent, tortured waif and shot the Doctor a filthy glance, "Your sister?" she said, "You called me your sister, I thought I was meant to be your wife."

"You look to young to be my wife," said the Doctor a little too quickly, "I thought it would be better if we were brother and sister, you a ward of my protection in London."

"Your ward?!" cried Rose before the Doctor clamped a hand over her mouth in alarm, hushing her, "What am I? Ten years old?"

"No but you look barely twenty in that outfit regardless of how old you really are and I look old enough to be your father right now. Just play along for God's sake," said the Doctor, "Now hush, someone's coming."

The door opened again, only a crack once more and Grace gave them both a mournful look, "I'm afraid Mister Proctor says that he mayn't take you in, with so many house breakers around and not knowing who you are he could not risk his family that way."

The Doctor repressed the urge to laugh at Clarence Proctor's concern for the wife and children he would soon murder, "We quite understand, thank you for your time," he said, secretly digging Rose in the ribs with his elbow to prompt her fainting.

Rose felt the wish to be contrary after his treatment of her but thought better of it as the cold terror of haunted nightmares rested around her. She swooned, grabbing onto the Doctor's arm.

"John?" she said, her voice wavering convincingly, "Help me."

Two strong arms caught her as she fell and she heard Grace's feet hurrying back into the house, calling for her sister and brother-in-law. Rose felt her hair being pushed back and opened her eyes to see the Doctor smiling down at her. She smiled back.

"Sorry," he mouthed, pressing a kiss to her forehead, before whispering to her, "Well done."

"You only work with the best," said Rose as she was hauled up into his arms, "I love you."

The Doctor's response was lost as Grace returned and they were bustled quickly inside.


	7. The Root of all Evil

"I'm fine now thank you," said Rose as Grace fussed over again, dabbing at her brow with a soaking cloth, blushing as she clumsily dripped water onto Rose's dress.

"Are you sure Miss?" said Catherine to her right, the image of her younger sister although more careworn and plumper, showing the trials of a pregnancy or two, "We could send for a doctor."

"No need," said Rose, "My…brother…is a doctor, I'm sure I'll be alright. Don't you think…John?"

"You'll be perfectly fine after a quiet night's rest," said the Doctor from his place by the fireside, his eyes ghosting over her before turning back to Clarence. Aside for several words of command to his wife and sister-in-law, Clarence Proctor had proved to be a silent, watchful creature; almost as terrifying in his human form as he was in the ghostly image both Rose and the Doctor remembered.

"You will find sir that it is quite impossible to have a quiet night here," he said suddenly, his voice sending shudders through Rose with its depth and brogue, "The owls do shriek so."

The Doctor gave him a forced smile, the inflection of his words signalling that perhaps it was not just the owls that cried out in the night, "After the bustle of London, Sir," he answered with venom equal to Proctor's, "You can be assured that we have never heard anything as silent."

"That remains to be seen," said Clarence, pushing up from his seat, "If you will pardon me Doctor, Miss Tyler, I have some business to attend to. Cate, see that our guests are attended to. Doctor Tyler may have the blue room upstairs and Miss Tyler may take Grace's room."

"But where will…" began Rose but Grace took a firm hold of her hand to silence her.

"I'm sure you will be quite comfortable there Miss," she said, her voice quivering slightly, "Please do not take any discomfort on my account, I shall be quite content to sleep down here."

"But…"

"Rose," came the warning from the Doctor, "Let it be."

"It is settled then," said Proctor turning to the door, "One word of advice though, the house is often cold in the night beyond the glow of the fires, you would be best not to venture from your rooms."

"We'll be sure not to," said the Doctor to Clarence's back as he left. Cate was out of the door behind him, bustling into the kitchen in a haste only held by someone scared of the repercussions.

"I…" said Grace, stuttering over her words, "I should get your room ready, Miss Tyler, if you'll excuse me."

"You don't have to give up your room for me," said Rose, trying to comfort the girl as she fidgeted in her seat.

"It is no hardship Miss," said Grace quickly, "Mister Proctor likes his guests to be comfortable and he has been so…good to me, taking me in when my parents died. I have nought but to obey."

Rose didn't have a chance to answer as Grace scurried from her seat and out of the room. Rose pushed herself up to sitting and clenched her fists at her side, "She is terrified," she said, "Why don't you do something?"

"You think I don't want to," said the Doctor, "This whole house stinks of terror but we can't risk altering the course of history, regardless of how bad it might be. Its dangerous enough my being here anyway, goodness knows if Grace's spirit recognizes me in the future what might happen but we have to concentrate on why we're here."

Rose nodded mournfully, seemingly greatly interested in her shoes. The quiet of the room was punctuated here and there by the sounds of the children at their play in the nursery upstairs and the hoot of the owls in the woods beyond. The fire crackled in the grate, throwing shadows across the Doctor's face as he peered into the flames. He looked up sharply when Rose spoke.

"Why…why did you say I was your sister, really?" she asked, fiddling with the lace at the cuff of her sleeve.

"I told you why," said the Doctor, "You look too young to be my wife."

"You never think I'm too young to be your girlfriend when you take me to bed," said Rose, "And we both know the age gap is more than the ten years it looks."

"Rose…"

"I just want to know why I went from Mrs Tyler, your wife to Miss Tyler, your poor unfortunate ward. It hurt Doctor, it was like you were ashamed to admit what we are."

The Doctor was beside her in a second, kneeling down in front of the chair she sat in, her hands folded in his, "Never," he said, "I could never be ashamed of you Rose, or what we have together. If you want the truth I was angry and jealous."

"Jealous?" said Rose, "Who could you be…oh! You're upset about earlier aren't you? Oh Doctor how could you even think…you're an idiot!"

"Maybe," said the Doctor a slight blush heightening his cheeks, "But it was…ugh I'm not explaining this well at all. It wasn't that you pushed me away, that bit I could understand but when you wouldn't come to me to let me comfort you, I just thought…"

"That I wasn't over the old you," finished Rose, squeezing his hands as he nodded, "Of course I'm not over you, how can I be over you when you're right here every day? I walked away because I had to get out of the control room, away from that vision, the same way you would have walked away from me if Reinette or your mother had appeared to you. Don't ever think I loved the way you were more than I love you now. I do miss you, I do wander what it would be like to be with you as you were but its always gone so quickly that I barely remember it."

The Doctor raised himself up enough to kiss her. At first Rose thought he would pull away but then he tugged on her bottom lip, begging for her to let him deepen the kiss. She hesitated, worried their façade would be broken if they were caught but he was insistent and she had no choice but to give in. While his kiss showed her physically how much he loved her she could not have been prepared for what happened next. The Doctor's hand drifted to her temple and she felt two fingers press lightly against her. She sighed into him as a wave of emotion hit her full force, every second of his kiss augmented by the love flowing from his mind to her own. She gave an involuntary squeak and he smiled against her lips before another emotion joined the love. Want flowed out into her veins, causing her whole body to shudder with desire. She felt the soft huff of laughter against her as she reacted to the feelings he was giving her but she had not taken so much leave of her senses that she could not punish him for his game. She gently bit down on his lip, revelling in the small whimper she pulled from him.

"Aren't you just gutted that you told them I was your sister now?" she whispered softly.

"You are one sexy…"

The Doctor quickly sprang away from Rose as footsteps echoed in the corridor. He was back beside the fire place by the time Catherine returned to the room carrying a tray of tea and biscuits, his blush only half hidden by the red glow of the fire. Catherine placed the tea things on a small table in the centre of the room and stood up, wiping her hands on her apron. She turned to leave.

"Aren't you joining us?" said Rose.

Catherine looked shocked but covered it with a forced smile, "I thank you but no, I have things to attend to…the children," she said, edging towards the door, "Please, make yourselves comfortable and retire when you please. My husband will not disturb you again and my sister will be attending the children with me."

"Thank you," said Rose, trying to convey as much comfort as she could in a simple look before Catherine scurried from the room.

XXXX

Rose rolled over again in the massive four poster bed, unable to find anyplace of comfort or warmth; missing the feel of another body next to her. She huffed in the darkness, focusing on the firelight and willing it to hypnotize her to sleep. She froze as she heard the heavy footfalls in the corridor outside of her room and instantly pulled the duvet up over her head.

"Go away! Go away! Go away!" she chanted over and over under her breath, "You're not real, go away!"

She waited for the familiar northern tones, the scent of Calvin Klein and leather but nothing came, instead the footsteps stopped outside her door. She strained her ears and could barely mistake the jangle of keys. She heard someone fumbling with her lock and then the click as it slid home, locking her inside. She waited for the footsteps to retreat once more before getting out of bed and trying the door handle, it wouldn't budge. She wanted to cry out for the Doctor to come for her but figured he had probably suffered the same fate in the room opposite and heard the footsteps she had heard. All she could do was wait for the sonic screwdriver to work its magic.

Not one to sit back on her laurels she quickly dressed again in her mourning garb and waited in the silence of the house for the telltale buzz of the Doctor's second most trusted assistant. She began her wait by pacing the floor until that proved to cause nothing more than dizziness in the heady atmosphere of the room. She found herself soon sitting on the dresser stool, not daring to stare in the mirror for fear of seeing one of the apparitions that had so haunted her in the TARDIS. The appearance of either the old Doctor or her father would have proved at least a distraction in the silence of the house but nothing came to her, even as she willed it. She wondered if maybe the Doctor had been completely wrong about the house and its link to the phenomena on the ship but something told her that this was not a break, this was the calm before the storm.

Rose looked up from the dresser with a start as she heard the faint buzz of the sonic screwdriver. She looked up, realising she had fallen asleep on her arms in front of the river. She got to her feet to see the Doctor tiptoe into the room, his finger against his lips in a gesture for her to keep quiet. His fingers formed an O shape to ask if she was okay and she replied in kind. He beckoned her over to him, making it clear he wanted her to step as quietly as possible. She lifted up her skirts and walked over to him, testing her weight on each floorboard before stepping on it fully. As she reached his side, he reached out and took her hand, raising it to his lips and placing a kiss to the back of it. Rose gave him a quizzical look but he ignored it and pointed down the corridor. She followed him along the freezing landing, keeping close to his back. As he reached the stairs he motioned for her to go down. The both froze as her foot squeaked on the first step and did not move for almost a minute before the Doctor gave her a gentle nudge to encourage her to move again. They made it down the stairs with little more drama and quickly passed the door to the drawing room where Grace lay sleeping.

Rose wanted to ask where they were headed but she knew silence was imperative if the Doctor wasn't rattling on at two hundred miles an hour. Clarence hadn't been wrong about the chill outside of the bedrooms, without the warmth of the fires Rose felt herself shuddering, her teeth chattering noisily in the silence of the corridor. The Doctor paused for a second and the screaming whisper of cloth on cloth as he removed his heavy black jacket echoed around them. Rose felt the warmth settle around her shoulders and smiled up at him gratefully, pulling her arms into the sleeves and buttoning it up tightly around her. They continued their path onwards towards the kitchen, treading carefully on the old floorboards.

A creak behind them caused them to pause mid-step, both of them scared to turn around for fear of seeing Clarence staring in hatred at them, his shot gun in hand. Rose felt the Doctor manoeuvre himself between her and whoever was behind them, willingly offering himself up in sacrifice for her life. They turned slowly and almost cried out in alarm at the ghostly looking figure that they saw. Grace stood in the darkened corridor, a small candle in her hand casting shadows across her pale features and heightening the blackness of her hair. She had a blanket pulled tightly around her but her feet were bare against the floor and she shivered as she tried to look strong before them.

"Grace," whispered the Doctor, "Please don't scream, we mean you know harm."

"What are you doing?" she asked, looking torn between calling for her brother-in-law and running in terror.

"We have something we need to look into," said the Doctor, "Clarence has been dabbling in arts he shouldn't be near and causing problems. I need to find out what's going on so that I can stop what's happening."

Grace brightened slightly, "You mean you can stop him…"

The Doctor shook his head mournfully, knowing what she was going to ask, "I can't help you and your family Grace, I can't protect you from him. I can't explain to you why, you would never understand and it would be too dangerous for me to even try. You must believe me though, what Clarence is dabbling in is dangerous and could cause great harm to others, not just those in this house. If you scream now then you are condemning us and yourself, if you let us go on then you could possibly be our saviour."

Grace took several tentative steps towards them, "Where were you heading?"

"To the gardens," said the Doctor, "I think…"

"You won't find anything there, just an old folly and some brambles," said Grace, taking his hand as if it was the most natural thing in the world, "Come with me. Clarence often goes to the basement alone, whatever you are looking for will be down there."

The Doctor looked over to Rose and then nodded to indicate that they should follow. Grace led them into the kitchen and to the door the Doctor remembered as leading to the basement. The door was heavily padlocked but the hinges were well worn. The Doctor produced the sonic screwdriver and made short work of the padlock, turning to Grace with a pleading look for silence as she gasped at the device. The Doctor set the padlock on the kitchen table and turned to the girl. He took her face in his hands and placed a kiss on her forehead.

"Grace Howes, you have no idea now what you mean to us both but one day you will understand," said the Doctor, "Thank you for helping us but you are to go no further than here. When we go down padlock the door and return to your bed in the drawing room as if nothing has passed between us."

"But how will you get out?" said Grace, looking between both Rose and the Doctor.

"We have ways," said Rose, "Believe me, we'll get out. You…you need to be strong Grace and you need to know that help will come."

The Doctor quickly took Rose's hand and gently squeezed, halting the oncoming threat of tears from the young woman. He turned to the door and opened it slowly, hissing as the hinges creaked. Grace silently handed him the candle she held and he took it gratefully. She gave them both a watery smile.

"Goodbye Doctor, Miss Tyler," she said softly, "I…I hope that you find what you're looking for and get away from this place."

"Grace…" began the Doctor.

"Don't…" she said softly, "You know more than I shall ever know and you can see so much of our lives laid bare but this is my place, with Catherine and the little ones. I shall be strong, now go; he will wake if he hears voices."

"Thank you," said the Doctor as he led Rose into the darkness of the basement, looking back briefly to offer Grace a comforting smile before she closed the door on them and the padlock slipped back into place. The sniff beside him brought his attention back to Rose and he wrapped an arm around her shoulders, keeping the candle high to light the stairs leading down.

"Hey, no tears, we will help her one day," he said softly, "I wish we could take her away but the timeline is messed up enough already. Rose, don't cry."

"I only wish…"

"I know," said the Doctor, "I know its hard, it's the choice I have to make every time I step into someone's life. Sometimes I can get away with it, I can cheat death and cause no lasting damage, other times its impossible but believe me, I'm not leaving her willingly."

"I know," echoed Rose, "We'd best get moving, this basement is creeping me out. What are we looking for?"

The Doctor led her down the stairs, helping her to hold up her skirts with his free hand to stop her falling. When they reached the bottom he shone the candle around the room, it was almost as cluttered as Rose remembered it from their time of tearing through it in fear of Clarence's spirit. Rose took his hand firmly, begging not to be told to go searching alone in the dim, cobwebbed room. She squeaked as a rat brushed passed them but the Doctor threw a hand over her mouth the stifle her scream.

"Hush, you need to stay quiet. Just think of home and how good its going to be when we sort this out and get back there," said the Doctor, "Now you need to be looking for anything out of the ordinary, anything that relates to the information we know from the books in the library."

They began searching, stifling coughs and sneezes as they disturbed the dust in the large basement. Rose never ventured far from the Doctor's side and never out of the candle's glow. After several minutes of searching it seemed almost hopeless, with countless dust sheets covering pieces of old furniture and nothing of interest beneath it seemed impossible to find anything of youth. Another rat scurried passed and Rose looked down at her feet, hitching up her skirts slightly. Her eyes caught something at her feet and she turned back to the Doctor, taking the candle form his hand and bending down to examine the ground. The dust had been disturbed beneath the dust sheet and she pulled it back, pushing back the chair that had been covered. She heard the Doctor's rapid in take of breath as he saw the two lines etched deeply into the wood of the floor, circles of wax denoting the placement of heavy candles surrounding it. The marking showed a vertical line, intersected by one just slightly off diagonal. Rose went to trace it with her fingers but the Doctor pulled her hand back.

"What's the matter?"

"Don't touch it," said the Doctor, "That symbol is nothing but trouble trust me."

"I thought you didn't believe in all that sort of stuff," said Rose, "Or is it just because we have something carved on the TARDIS floor too?"

"The symbols mean the same thing as the one on the floor of the TARDIS," said the Doctor, pulling her back from the symbol before taking the candle and kneeling down beside it, "It's a containment spell, the ancients believed that you could contain spiritual entities with carvings like this. The one in the TARDIS is ancient, used in many faiths, this is more particular; its Nordic, a rune but they mean the same thing. Clarence must have looked to the Occult when he became suspicious over Catherine's affair and learnt the Nordic spells of containment to try and hold the entity but there is one problem with all symbols like this."

"And what's that?" said Rose, as the Doctor pulled the chair back into place and covered it with the dust sheet.

"They don't work," said the Doctor, straightening back up, "They can't contain anything, they're just etchings on the floor but they're attractive to a lot of entities, spirit and alien."

"You think this is alien then?"

"I…" The Doctor trailed off as the sound of a key scratching in a lock echoed from upstairs. The padlock to the door sprang free and the door above was opened, the faint glow of candlelight illuminating the stairway.

The Doctor grabbed Rose's hand and ran towards the coal hatch they had escaped from before. They heard a shout from upstairs and the chillingly familiar sound of boots on the stairs as Clarence thundered down towards them. The Doctor fumbled with the lock on the coal hatch, the sonic screwdriver protesting but finally working and allowing them the pull the chains free and throw open the doors. The Doctor pushed Rose up through the gap, cursing her heavy skirts before pulling himself out after her. He slammed the doors shut and grabbed her hand, running back towards the front of the house. They vaulted over the fence, glad it was lower in this time period than it had been in the twenty-first century.

A bullet ricocheted off the top of the fence, nearly catching Rose as she struggled more than the Doctor in her heavy clothes. The Doctor didn't let go of her hand, practically dragging her along as shots flew passed them, dangerously close. The Doctor ran into the woods, weaving in and out of the trees, Clarence still hot on their heels. Rose felt her foot catch in a tree root and tumbled down into the muddy ground. The Doctor turned to pull her to her feet but she cried out as her ankle failed to support her weight.

"Damn it!" cried the Doctor as a shot hit the tree right above his head. He hoisted Rose onto his shoulder and proceeded to run as fast as he could with the added burden, Rose yelping in agony as every jolt sent bursts of agony through her leg, leaving him in little doubt it was broken. The lights of the TARDIS became apparent and it willed him onwards, the shots getting closer and closer as Clarence's aim improved. They reached the doors and the Doctor thanked whatever god was watching over him that day that despite her pain Rose had had the presence of mind to pull her TARDIS key from her dress pocket ready to hand to him.

He unlocked the door and hurried inside, Rose slamming it shut behind them as several shots echoed off the faux wood exterior. The Doctor carried Rose over to the pilot's chair and set her down gently, wincing at her yelps of pain as her skirts brushed against her. He threw back her skirt and gingerly unlaced the tight Victorian boot, pulling it off as Rose cried out and dug her nails into the chair.

"Ok, its ok," he said reassuringly, "It'll feel better in a second, just hold still for me."

"Stupid, bloody tree root! Stupid, idiot Clarence bloody messing with stupid, stupid magic thinking he's all that and beating up poor girls! Idiot man should be locked up the nutter," rambled Rose, squirming as the Doctor unfastened her stocking and slipped it off her injured leg. She shot him a venomous look as he laughed at her.

"What's so funny?"

"Nothing, you just carry on," he said, taking the sonic screwdriver and running the beam over her ankle, "You're quite sweet when you're railing against the world though. Hmmm, not pretty, its definitely broken I'm afraid."

"You can fix it right," said Rose, "I don't want to be hobbling around for six weeks with all this rubbish going on in here."

"It'll be sore for a few days but I can fix it pretty quickly. Think you can stand a trip to the med suite?"

Rose nodded and raised her arms to wrap around the Doctor's neck as he lifted her up bridal style from the seat. He carried her along the corridor until they reached a door, all too familiar to their trips to Penrith. Rose cuddled a little closer to him remembering the two times she had nursed him in the room. Her hand took on a life of its own as it popped open the top two buttons of his shirt, allowing her to run a hand over the smooth skin of his chest, remembering the burn marks Van Statten's ray had left on his old form after they had first encountered the Dalek. The Doctor had struggled through their adventure with Adam the day after but when he had been dropped back on Earth he had let his weakness show and collapsed into her arms in the control room. Rose had helped him recover from the burns across his chest, nursing him gently with all the love she couldn't show him any other way. The second time she had been able to be more openly affectionate as she nursed him after Clarence's attack, helping him heal badly broken ribs and wrist, a lucky escape from what could have been.

"I'm alright Rose," said the Doctor, knowing what was in her head as her fingers left his chest to ghost over his wrist. He lay her down on one of the beds and hitched up her heavy skirt. He huffed in annoyance as it kept flopping down or catching on the cuff buttons of his shirt, "This is going to have to come off otherwise I may attempt to murder it."

Rose giggled but then winced as the movement sent pain coursing through her leg, "Ok, any excuse to undress me hey?"

"You know me too well," said the Doctor, his fingers making short work of the buttons down the front of her dress. He gently, pushed the dress up over her hips before helping her to sit up and pulling the heavy garment over her head. He gazed down at the ornate corset she wore and raised an eyebrow in question, "Did you want to do that thing up any tighter? I'm surprised you can breathe."

"Wanted to look the part," she said blushing slightly as his eyes ghosted over her, taking in the mismatch of twenty-first century underwear and Victorian corsetry. She let out a grateful breath as the Doctor untied the ribbons up her front, the boned material releasing and allowing her more room to breath.

"Better?" he asked.

"Much," said Rose, smiling as he gazed down at her, "But I think you're getting a bit distracted. Ankle, remember?"

"Of course," said the Doctor, with a wolfish smile, "Just making sure my patient is comfortable is all."

"Quite right too Doctor," said Rose, wincing as he picked up one of his wonderful Time Lord devices and passing the beam over her foot. She heard the bones crack back into place and some release from the pain came to her. She propped herself on her elbows and hissed at the deep, purple bruising around her foot., "Nice."

"It'll fade in a few days," said the Doctor, bandaging it up "You just need to rest it. You can keep it up in the main library while I work on a few things."

"Mmm," murmured Rose, the gentle touch of his hands relaxing her somewhat and allowing the tiredness that she felt to permeate her being, "Yeah, that'd be ok. You'll have to carry me there though."

"You make that sound like a chore," said the Doctor, lifting her back up from the bed and leaving the room. Rose was already asleep against his shoulder as he entered the warm welcoming library, a world away from the dusty old library in the Cloister Room. The Doctor laid her down on the sofa and pulled a blanket over her, pillowing her head on one of the scatter cushions she'd recently insisted on leaving everywhere.

He turned to the shelves of books and placed his glasses on his face and waited for inspiration to hit.

XXXX

The Doctor could almost quote Rose's nightmare line for line as he tried in vain to bring her from its clutches, desperately trying to avoid shaking her and waking her so abruptly that it frightened her even more. When all else failed he resorted to the old lullabies he remembered from his infancy. The soft melodies comforted her tortured sleep and she settled once more into dreamless slumber. He moved to wake her but her peaceful countenance stilled his hand, instead he brushed back her hair and readjusted the blankets around her. He continued to hum softly to her, stroking the blonde locks that spilled over her shoulder, content to watch her.

He trailed off as he heard a higher, more feminine voice join his own and grow in pitch as his descended. He kept his eyes focused on Rose, knowing the voice as it sang. Cool fingers rested on his shoulder, willing him to look up but he swallowed his resolve and focused harder on Rose.

"Little one…"

"Leave me alone," he choked, "You're not real."

"How can you turn me away when you have wanted this for so long?"

"Because you're only in my head," said the Doctor, "You're not real and you will prove nothing but bad news to both me and Rose."

"Why do you sing to that human child?"

"Because she's afraid."

"Why should her fear matter to you?"

"Because she's Rose," answered the Doctor.

"Your affections for her will be frowned upon, you are far beyond her kind in so many ways," said the voice behind him, with more venom than he had ever heard from the gentle voice he remembered.

"I know your tricks," he said, "Trying to turn my head to your beliefs but you have made one error. If you were my mother then you wouldn't speak so harshly on a Time Lord's affections for another, we would both know what bigotry cost us."

The Doctor felt the cool fingers leave his shoulder and the room warmed once again. He breathed out a sigh of relief and turned to look over his shoulder, glad to see the room empty save for himself and Rose. The girl in question mumbled in her sleep again before shooting up to sitting, staring around herself in alarm before relaxing as her eyes focused on the Doctor.

"Same dream?" he asked, brushing back her hair.

Rose shook her head, "It was different this time, I dreamed about what happened with the Isolas, when you were trapped in that drawing."

"Ionic energy?" said the Doctor, "Ionic…the Lay Lines and then…no…yes, power surge? The symbols and…Penrith! Oh Rose you have to be the most wonderful, intelligent person on this planet!"

"Thank you," said Rose with a quizzical look, "Would you mind telling me why?"

"You're my inspiration," said the Doctor, getting to his feet and pacing the room, his hands mussing up his already fly away hair, "Clarence used the Lay Lines to contain some entity and it began to control him. He kills his family etc, etc and they go on suffering at his hand even after their death that is until we come along. We barrel in and create merry hell, poking about in attics and opening doors but we make no progress until we connect with them."

"The Ouija board?" said Rose.

"Precisely, we use a Ouija board and we make a connection but like I said those things are nasty customers and shouldn't be used by anyone who doesn't know what they're doing. Said Ouija board is in my hands and I had no idea what to do with the damn thing but I did it anyway. That causes whatever entity to attach itself to me as I have been the main channel for it. We defeat Clarence and all is happy with the world or so we think but this entity is attached to me and when I come onboard the TARDIS it does too but when we move it loses its power source, the Lay Lines. It has to retreat and finds ample space in the containment etchings on the Cloister Library floor. I don't go in there, I'd never look for it and it waits for a power surge. We mosey along as we do and end up in twenty-twelve where I get turned into a dodgy child's drawing but wherever I go the TARDIS goes and thereby the entity. Well this is what it needs isn't it, a burst of ionic energy, lovely; just like your Mum's tea after a heavy night of regenerating, wakes you right up. Next thing you know both you and me are getting weird dreams and seeing all strange people knocking around the TARDIS, gradually getting worse as our fears augment the power source of the entity. Ha! Knew I'd figure it out."

"All that being said though Doctor," said Rose trying to digest the two hundred mile an hour explanation, "What exactly are we dealing with?"

The Doctor did a very good impression of a kicked puppy as his shoulders slumped and he sighed deeply, "I don't know."


	8. Mirror Image

Rose sat back in the chair, watching the Doctor with a mixture of amusement and confusion as he paced the room; muttering away to himself, pulling books from the shelves only to discard them when they proved useless, turning to her with a look of hope but then shaking his head when his ideas proved fruitless. They had taken a brief moment to change back into their normal clothes after their Victorian adventure and Rose had been grateful when the Doctor had provided her with crutches to get around a little quicker on her bad ankle. But now he remained pacing and making her twitchy. He stopped by the fireplace and stared down at the extinguished ashes before glancing back up to the large, ornate mirror there. He regarded his own reflection until he saw Rose's behind him. He paused taking in her effortless beauty. His eyes shot back to his own reflection as a thought came to him.

"Rose, come here, help me get this mirror down," he said, beckoning her over.

Rose hobbled over to the other side of the mantle and helped him gently manoeuvre the mirror to the ground, leaning it against the hearth as the Doctor went to the sofa and took the blanket from it. He wrapped the mirror tightly and picked it up with some effort, hoisting it beneath his arm.

"Right, Cloister Room," he said pointing to the library door, "We're going to conduct an experiment."

"What experiment?" said Rose, having to move faster than she would have liked to keep up with his long strides.

"You'll see," said the Doctor flashing a grin over his shoulder at her as they made their way deeper and deeper into the TARDIS. The soon reached the Cloister Room door and the Doctor passed over the threshold with little ceremony, not even casting a glance over the altar and heading straight towards the hidden library. The torches had remained alight from their last time in residence and the shadows remained as deep and eerie as Rose remembered. Her crutches echoed out loudly on the stone steps leading up to the library and she thought of several colourful new names for the Doctor if this proved to be a wild goose chase.

Rose flopped into one of the wooden chairs as the Doctor pulled back the rug covering the Pentacle etching and then leaned the still wrapped mirror against the hearth.

"Rose, can you go an stand over there please?" he said pointing to a place to his right that would leave her unable to see the reflection in the mirror. Rose huffed but did as she was told, using only one crutch to walk herself over to where he was pointing. She watched him as he pulled away the blanket from the mirror and stared at his reflection, wincing at what he saw.

"What do you see when you look at me?" he said.

"Hang on!" cried Rose, "Is this an ego thing because if this is an ego thing I'll…"

"Rose I'm serious, what do you see when you look at me."

Rose frowned, studying the man before her, "I see the Doctor, who else?"

"But what do you see?" said the Doctor, "Describe me, height, weight, age all that."

"Well you're quite tall, taller than me and your slim, nicely slim. A little bit foxy I suppose! You look about thirty-ish I'd say, maybe a bit older when you've had a bad day," said Rose, smiling as she heard the huff of laughter from him, "You've got lovely dark hair that's all ruffable and big brown, Bambi eyes with eyelashes that are far too long for a man but make you look adorable, all in all very handsome. Need I go on or have I stroked your ego enough for today?"

"What do you see when you look at yourself in the mirror in the morning?" asked the Doctor, still not taking his eyes off his own reflection.

"Me?" said Rose, "Mid height, slim-ish, blonde hair, dark eyes, jeans and trainers normally."

"What do you really see?"

"Ok, now you've lost me," said Rose, feeling a little uncomfortable with his odd questions.

"Do you think you're pretty?"

"Ish," said Rose, "You say I am."

"Do you think you're slim enough?"

"I could lose a few pounds I suppose," said Rose blushing, looking down at herself to see her own frame, "Why, do you think I'm getting fat?"

"Don't be ridiculous," said the Doctor, "I think you're perfect, I just wanted to understand your perception of yourself. Do you know what I see when I look at myself? I see an old man, a very old man in boy's clothes, scars from every adventure and cold eyes that can't look kindly on the universe anymore. That's how I perceive myself and I can see that right now."

The Doctor held out his hand to Rose and she walked slowly over to him, leaning heavily on the crutch. She took his outstretched hand, keeping her eyes focused on his rather than turning to look at the mirror; some fear warning her not to. He turned her, sensing her reluctance and she gasped in alarm at what she saw. Where she should have seen the usual cheeky, young exterior of the Doctor she saw a wizened old man, twisted with age and his features marred by life and grief. Her gaze trailed down the old man's hand to the hand he held, before she looked back to the Doctor beside her, seeing her hand held firmly in his. She raised her eyes to look at her own reflection and choked on a sob. At least a stone heavier than she should be and nowhere near as pretty Rose took in her appearance quickly before turning away in disgust.

"Why do we look like that?" she said, trembling in the chill of the room, "We look terrible."

"Its how we perceive ourselves," said the Doctor, "What we believe we are. The thought came to me in the library, I saw your reflection and I wondered how anyone as beautiful as you ended up with someone like me but then I thought that your perception of me would differ from my own."

"I don't understand," said Rose, burying her face in his shoulder and refusing to look at their reflections.

"This thing, whatever it is, is in our subconscious minds, using our fears and deepest thoughts against us. We all have moments in our lives, fleeting as they may be when we think of things we would never admit to. Thoughts like your wish that I hadn't regenerated or my wandering what it would have been like to be with Reinette. I'm not saying this to hurt you Rose, I'm glad I'm with you and not her but there is that tiny part in us all that thinks what if and this thing has taken that and twisted it into something horrid," said the Doctor, "To confront this thing we need to do so on its own turf and that is the subconscious. The mirror, combined with the residual energy in this room provides a gateway to that place. At the moment its only figurative, a vessel of perception and nothing more but I could, if my theory is correct, turn this mirror into a gateway to allow me into the subconscious world where I can confront this thing head on."

"Since when do you work in the singular?" asked Rose, "You can create a gateway for us to use to confront this thing."

"You're injured and I don't know what will be in there," said the Doctor, "You're staying here where its safe."

"With a sinister version of you and Madame du Pompi-wotsit knocking about? No fear am I staying here by myself," said Rose, "Injured or not this thing is in my head too and I'm coming with you."

The Doctor sighed before taking the blanket and covering the mirror once more. He turned to Rose and held here shoulders gently, "Please stay here, I don't…I don't know what will happen in there but I can only imagine it will be like here but worse. Grace said this thing would try to force us apart."

"But if we know that then we can fight it," said Rose, letting her crutch fall to the floor and resting her hands at his waist, feeling the tight muscles beneath her fingers, "It can try all it likes to turn me against you but it won't work, I love you too much to let it."

The Doctor dropped his gaze to the floorboards, "The things it'll show you, it'll tempt you away I'm sure and to lose you that way would be the worse thing in the world. You'll see me for who I am."

"Look at me," said Rose tucking her fingers under his chin but he refused to raise his gaze, "Look at me, baby please. I already see you for who you are and…and I know, what happened, the War."

"How can you know?" said the Doctor.

"You told me," said Rose, "When we first entered the Cloister Room you went into some sort of trance, this thing was effecting you and you confessed what happened, what you did with the Eye of Harmony. Perhaps it thought that I would run scared from you knowing what you did that day but I didn't because you did what you had to do, for the safety of us all you threw yourself into the deepest torture. How could I hate you for that Doctor? So you see, nothing this creature can show me will sacrifice my love for you, you're my Doctor, my wonderful Time Lord and I love you. Let me stay beside you now."

Rose let herself be pulled into his embrace, ready for the tears she expected but they didn't come. Instead he held her tightly, burying his face in her hair. Rose stroked his back, glad to feel his hearts strong and steady against her chest.

"You promise me that if I tell you to run away you'll run away," said the Doctor.

"I can't…"

"Promise me Rose," he pleaded, "Promise me that whatever happens in there that you'll live on, you'll get home."

"Do you really have enough time to teach me to pilot the TARDIS?" said Rose, glad to feel him laugh against her.

"I won't need to," he said pulling back, "We need power to get this thing to work and we can use the rift at Penrith for that. I'll take us to the site of the house, a year after we've left first time round. If I land there and anything happens you can leave the TARDIS and get home to your mother."

"Ok," said Rose, "But you promise me that you won't send me away for anything less than a disaster."

"Scout's honour," said the Doctor.

"Well then you best go shift the TARDIS and we can get this party started," said Rose, "I'll stay up here."

"You sure," said the Doctor.

"Yeah, getting up and down those stairs is hell," said Rose settling herself down on one of the chairs, "Besides, I know what to expect now. I keep my eyes down and don't acknowledge them and they can't hurt me besides, if you notice the apparitions seem to be localised to parts of the TARDIS, the other Doctor in the control room, your mum in the library, Reinette up here. I can't see Reinette whenever she shows up so she won't bother me. Now go on."

The Doctor pressed a kiss to her lips before leaving the room. Rose listened to his footfalls disappearing down into the Cloister Room below and then the sound of the heavy door opening and closing. She glared at the covered mirror as if daring it to produce some sort of apparition but nothing came. Bored with the silence after a few minutes she began to sing to herself, not quite remembering the melody she was humming but singing it anyway. She kept her eyes trained on the mirror throughout and her line of sight didn't include the entrance to the room. She shrugged her shoulders as her hair tickled the back of her neck and cursed the fact that she hadn't brought a hair band.

It took her a moment to register the fact that the room had plunged into darkness but when she did she screamed at the top of her lungs in alarm. She struggled to her feet, yelping as she landed on her injured leg. She whirled in a circle, trying to see anything in the pitch black but she could barely see an inch in front of her face. She blinked and tried to remember some of the tricks the Doctor had taught her when it came to calming herself down. She closed her eyes and focused on her hearing, searching out for any sound alien in the room. Silence greeted her as she breathed deeply, calming her heartbeats. She opened her eyes and found her focus a little stronger. She scanned the room but nothing but the old furniture greeted her. She settled her shoulders and told herself that it was merely the torch burning down and that the Doctor would be along in any moment with his pockets full of gadgets to light the rooms once more.

A faint, blue tinged light seemed to flicker in the corner and she squinted in the dimness trying to make out the shape. She remembered the manifestation of Grace in the Proctor house and feared that it was one of the many apparitions that had haunted them coming about once more. She thought of Reinette's form and prayed she would not have to encounter the French woman without the Doctor by her side. Her prayers were answered when the light began to take shape but she wished they had not been. In a swirl of smoky blue a lion stood before her, massive and snarling. She began to back away as slowly as possible but the movement caught her attention and it stalked towards her, its huge paws slapping loudly on the wooden floor. Rose whimpered as it drew nearer to her, her back pressed against the wall of books a metre away from the door. She wanted to run but knew she wouldn't get far on her damaged leg but she couldn't stay to be eaten alive. The lion was barely a breath away from her and she could smell the blood that surrounded its muzzle. She groped along the wall, moving as slowly as possible until she felt the gap that led to the stairs. The lion growled at her and she let out a shriek as it leapt forward. She turned to the stairs only to run into something solid that let out a cry of alarm as she hit it full force.

Rose looked up to see the Doctor looking down on her, concern in his eyes as he steadied her on the stairs. Rose cast her eyes over her shoulder to see the room behind perfectly illuminated and no big cat in sight. She shivered and turned back to the Doctor, wrapping her arms around his middle and burying her face in his chest.

"What did you see?" he asked, holding her tightly.

"Lion," she said, trembling, "There was a lion in here."

"A lion," said the Doctor frowning against her hair, "Why a lion?"

"Narnia," said Rose, "I was always scared of Aslan when I was a kid, even though Mum said he was the good guy. Never liked lions, even in the zoo."

"Oh Rose," said the Doctor, knowing in any other circumstance he would encourage her to laugh at such a childish fear but knowing that it had been as real to her as if a real lion had been in the room, "Now you see why I don't want you to come, that could be what we'll be up against. The world of the subconscious I can imagine is a place where anything goes and that means that this thing can use anything against us."

"That's why I've got you," said Rose finally looking up at him, "Besides, you're not leaving me alone, not with lions in the mix now. Hadn't you better go back and move the TARDIS?"

"Already moved," said the Doctor, "Didn't you hear the engines?"

Rose shook her head as he helped her back into the room and sat her down. He began moving around the room, picking up bits and pieces that looked to Rose like ancient divination tools, bones, candles, some strange bottled liquid she got a queasy feeling was blood. She wondered who had lived in the TARDIS before the Doctor and how much he must have differed from the gentle creature she knew now.

"I might not believe in the Occult," murmured the Doctor as he knelt by the etching on the floor, "But I know how to use it. Last chance to back out Rose."

"Never," said Rose defiantly, "I'm with you all the way."

"Alright then," said the Doctor as he began to arrange the items he'd picked up. He placed one of each of the bones on each line of the pentacle star and then one of the candles at each of the points. He lit the candles one by one before looking at the bottle beside him. He muttered something to himself and then pushed it to one side. He took a penknife from his pocket and flipped open the blade. He looked down at his palm and frowned. Rose caught on a second later.

"Don't you dare…"

She didn't get a chance to finish as he drew the blade across his hand, blood welling up from the deep cut he'd made. He hissed in pain and used his good hand to close the knife and return it to his pocket. Rose hobbled to his side and knelt down, taking his damaged hand in her own.

"You're an idiot," she said, wincing at the depth of the cut.

"Its needed," he said placing his bloodied palm down flat on the eye in the centre of the star, "Primitive I know but its how the ancients did it."

Rose patted down his pockets until she found a clean handkerchief and bandaged his hand with it, "You really should stitch that up," she said.

"No time," said the Doctor as the symbol at their feet began to glow a faint blue colour. He helped Rose to her feet and slipped an arm around her waist, "Now I don't know whether this is going to work or what we'll see but know that I'm right beside you."

"I know," said Rose.

The Doctor reached out and pulled the cover off the mirror, the same grotesque figures of before stared back out at them and Rose fought the urge to turn her head away. The Doctor reached out a hand to the glass, pausing just before the surface before pushing his hand forward. It sank through the glass as if it was water. He moved it in and out, examining the structure of the surface, a thin, viscous layer covering his hand.

"Tingles," he said with a lightness to his voice, "Ready."

"No," said Rose honestly, "But then I never am. We go in together yeah?"

The Doctor dropped his hand from her waist and took her hand in his, "Together."

They took several tentative steps forwards until they could no further forward without passing through the mirror.

"Very Phantom of the Opera this," said Rose, "I've never known you to be so dramatic."

"Blew up your job to get your attention didn't I?" said the Doctor, taking a firmer hold of her hand and stepping over.

Rose shuddered as the viscous liquid covered her before disappearing from her form as she passed through into the world beyond. She found herself in a pitch black room, no indication of where the floor or ceiling was or anything other than blackness surrounding her. She turned to the Doctor to see him staring around himself in question, trying to make anything out in the room.

"Intriguing," he muttered, "I expected something but there's nothing."

"We could do with those lights you get in airplanes to show you where the path is," said Rose. As she finished speaking little lights began flickering on the floor at their feet, shooting out into the distance along a straight line that went on for as far as they could see.

"Not bad," said the Doctor.

"Did I do that?" said Rose.

The Doctor nodded, "This world is independent of the laws of physics so much so that we can manipulate the world with our thoughts," he said unwrapping his damaged hand and showing her the unmarred palm, "See, I wanted it better and it was. Try your foot."

Rose tentatively put her foot to the floor and found no pain greeted her. She hopped from foot to foot, testing her weight, "Cool," she said, "But I assume that anything we imagine this thing has access too."

"Precisely," said the Doctor, "A proper be careful what you wish for. Bit surreal all this though, look behind you."

Rose turned around to find herself staring at the room behind the mirror but something was out of place. Two bodies lay on the floor by the pentacle star, looking to all the world like they were dead. She felt for the Doctor's hand and held it tightly. Rose's body lay next to the Doctor's their hands still joined but no breath or movement showed them as having any life yet. She swallowed down the sickness that was rising in her throat as she looked at her own body.

"Doctor?"

"We've stepped out of our conscious forms," he said, "Become what we are mentally rather than physically, we've just got the forms we're used to because we're joined. We're our perceptions of each other."

"I think I get it. So what do we do now?"

"Follow the path I suppose and see what happens," said the Doctor, stepping on to the path, "I suppose this is the place we have to come back to when we want to get out so remember this path."

Rose looked back over her shoulder once more before they began following the lights into the blackness.

XXXX

Rose slumped down to sitting, folding her arms in a sulk and glaring at the Doctor's back. It didn't take too long for the Time Lord to stop in his tracks and pivot on his heel to face her.

"Problem?" he said.

"Yeah," said Rose, "We have been walking for three hours and nothing has happened, nothing has changed; just lots of twinkly lights going in a straight line. I'm bored, my feet hurt, I'm hungry and I can't be bothered with this anymore, we're not getting anywhere."

"Give it time," said the Doctor, "This could well be part of this creature's plan, cause us to fall down with boredom and fatigue and then strike us down. So we need to keep going and not let it get to us."

"But my feet hurt," whined Rose, pouting prettily, "Carry me."

"You're not five Rose," said the Doctor flopping down beside her, "Look we'll rest for a bit and then we'll move on yeah?"

Rose nodded, laying his head on her shoulder, "Hang about, you said we could manifest things in this world. Can't you conjure a car or something?"

The Doctor closed his eyes for a moment and Rose heard him muttering under his breath. She searched around for a vehicle of some sort to appear, half expecting a Surrey and horses rather than a car from the contrary mind of her Time Lord. The Doctor huffed beside her and opened her eyes.

"Seems we can only do things on a small scale unless they're an extension of our selves," he said, creating a book in his hand before making it disappear once more.

"Perhaps I could conjure up a new pair of Gucci shoes," said Rose, "That would be cool."

"Rose," said the Doctor shaking his head.

"What? I could, then you wouldn't have to moan about my shopping habits. My shoes are an extension of myself aren't they?"

"Yes but…" The Doctor trailed off, looking deep in thought. He turned his back on her for a second and Rose tried to peer over his shoulder to see what he was doing.

"Rose, you know you said you didn't want to walk? Would you go on if you could ride?" he said turning back to her with a look of mischief in his eyes.

"I thought you said we couldn't create anything that wasn't an extension of ourselves," said Rose.

"Exactly," said the Doctor a familiar grin lighting his features, "Self."

"Don't you do anything stupid," said Rose as the Doctor shut his eyes once more. The same blue light that she had seen before the lion arrived enveloped the man before her, blocking her from view. Rose shut her eyes as she heard the thrum of power around him worried what was happening. The sound faded to nothing but she kept her eyes closed.

"Rose," she heard his voice float to her ears, "Open your eyes."

Rose did as she was commanded only to be met by two deep set black eyes and a muzzle. She screamed as she took in the scale of the creature before her and scurried backwards across the floor. A great tawny coloured wolf stood where the Doctor had once sat, its deep eyes trained directly on her. Rose shrieked as it came towards her.

"Do you mind?" came the Doctor's voice again, "My hearings pretty sensitive at the best of times."

"Doctor where are you?" called Rose to the darkened room, never taking her eyes off the wolf.

"Right in front of you," came the voice again. The wolf stepped forward and Rose shut her eyes in terror before she felt the gentle brush of its fur against her cheek. A familiar scent hit her senses and she couldn't help but breathe it in as she opened her eyes.

"Doctor?" she said reaching a hand up to lay it on the wolf's head, "Is that you?"

"Yep," came the voice in her head, "Pretty nifty huh? Always wanted to do that but I can't shape shift in the real world, always been jealous of creatures that can change form."

"How come I can hear you?"

"I'm a telepath, well sort of. The Time Lords could communicate on a telepathic level but I've never been able to with you because of your species but now in this world I can manipulate physics and make you hear me. Hence why I can be in this form and still talk to you."

Rose gently ruffled the soft fur beneath her fingertips, giggling at the thought of informing her mother that she had seen her boyfriend turn into a giant wolf right in front of her. She got to her feet, noticing that the Doctor's head came way above her waist as he stood on all fours. She circled him slowly, taking the chance to tug on his tail and eliciting a deep, playful growl from his throat.

"Why a wolf?" she asked coming back to his side and automatically fussing his head again, "Why not a horse or something?"

"Do I look like a horse to you?" said the Doctor, "I would have gone for a lion if you hadn't gone all anti-Aslan before we left so without the option of being the King of Beasts I thought I'd go for something equally cool. I'm loving the fur though, thought I'd be all silver but brown is definitely my colour."

"You suit a wolf," said Rose, "Am I meant to do something and transform to?"

"No!" said the Doctor forcefully, "Don't attempt anything like that until you have to. I have a greater control over this place than you do, I don't want you doing anything that could harm you. Plus you wouldn't be able to communicate with me if you became anything other than human, although you can hear me telepathically I can't give you that power too. Now get on."

"Get on what?" said Rose.

"Climb up, on me," said the Doctor, "I'm gonna carry you, hence the size."

"You want me to ride you?" said Rose, raising an eyebrow, "So many ways that can be twisted."

"If it's a problem then I can always change back and you can walk," said the Doctor, still managing to pull a superior face despite his lupine form.

"No, no," said Rose quickly, "Bend down a bit will you."

Rose had to suppress a giggle as the Doctor lay down on the floor and she slung a leg across his back. She knotted her fingers into the fur at his neck and braced herself as he pushed up onto his paws.

"Mush!" called Rose, giving him a gentle dig in his side with her heel.

"I do have teeth in this form you know."

"Kinky," murmured Rose, "You know this borders on beast…"

"Don't say things like that, you'll put me right off," said the Doctor, "Now hold on tight."

Rose laughed out loud as a great howl echoed out in the blackness and she felt the breeze whip up her hair as they went tearing down the path way, the lights merging to lines of gold as they raced along.


	9. Down the Rabbit Hole

The Doctor slowed his pace as he felt the grip on the fur at his neck begin to relax slightly. The body against him felt heavier than before and the gentle puff of breath against his ear signified that his passenger was fast asleep. The path they had been following still stretched on never ending before them. Glancing back over his shoulder he could see the faint outline of the mirror, so very far away from them now and he was almost tempted to turn them about and go home. He slowed the a stop and lay down against the cool black ground. He shrugged his shoulders slightly, the absence of arms making it hard to remove the sleeping human from his back.

Rose groaned and stirred, alarmed for a minute by the feel of warm fur beneath her cheek before she remembered her situation.

"We there yet?" she mumbled, taking the hint and sliding off the Doctor's back to lay on the floor. Two shiny, black eyes focused on hers and she lifted her hand to fuss the tufty, tawny fur on his head.

"Not yet, the path just keeps going on and on and I've been running for hours, my feet hurt," came the Doctor's voice in her head.

"Don't you mean your paws?" giggled Rose, moving her hand to measure it against his massive paw. She felt the claws retract back as far as possible, mindful of her delicate skin. Despite the warmth that flowed through the touch Rose longed to feel his fingers entwined with hers once more, "Can you change back now?"

"Sure," said the Doctor, his black eyes closing for a moment.

Rose waited for the blue light to surround him again but nothing happened. She waited and waited until she saw the Doctor open one eye a crack and look down at his paws, an expression that was far too human for his lupine form gracing his features. His eyes closed again and Rose could hear his muttering softly in her mind. She willed along with him, fear rising in her as still nothing happened to change him back. He opened his eyes and she found the growl he emitted both terrifying and awe inspiring in an instant.

"I can't do it," he said, "I can't change back. I don't know why, it was perfectly easy to do before."

"Perhaps you're too tired," said Rose gently patting down his fur, "You did say you've been running for hours. Perhaps if you get some rest."

"I don't need to rest," said the Doctor, "I want to find out what the hell is going on here and get out! You hear me, show yourself, stop this stupid game whoever you are and show yourself!"

"Doctor!" cried Rose as his rant echoed in her head, "You're giving me a headache."

A soft cheek rested against hers for a second, "Sorry, I didn't think. Are you alright?"

"Yeah," said Rose pushing up to her feet, "Come on, we should keep moving. I'll walk for a while, my legs are all achy from sitting for so long."

She lay a hand on the Doctor's back as they walked along side by side. She kept glancing down at him, examining the figure before her and realising with some discomfort how easily she had accepted his transformation. Before she met him something like his transformation from man to wolf would have scared to her but now it seemed almost as common place as breathing, she was almost surprised he hadn't found a way to do it before.

"Don't worry Rose, I will change back," came the soft voice in her head again, "Remember we're only in our subconscious minds, not the real world. When we get back I'll be back to normal."

"You'll never be normal," said Rose, flexing her fingers against his fur, "But I would be happier to have you as you used to be. Regenerating from one face to another was one thing but this; well I doubt my mother will be too happy with you moulting on her sofa."

"She probably leash me and want me to chase a ball in the park too," said the Doctor, "And that is hardly dignified sport for a Time Lord."

"No different from when you used to kick a football around with Mickey for hours on end and…"

The Doctor bumped his shoulder against Rose's hip, wishing he could comfort her better as she trailed off at the mention of her absent friend, "Hey, remember, Mickey's safe and he's happy. Maybe one day we'll get to see him again but he wouldn't want us to be sad and mourn for him. He didn't die Rose, he just moved on."

"I know, just miss him is all," said Rose, a small laugh coming to her, "He would laugh to see you now though, he'd be pulling your tail and everything."

"Like to see him try," said the Doctor, bounding ahead from her slightly, "He'd have to catch me for a start."

"You think you're so impressive don't you?" said Rose, walking back to level with him.

"Hey, will you check out this coat, I could win Crufts!"

"They don't let mongrels enter," said Rose before sprinting off along the path. She heard the slap of paws on the floor behind her, following slower than he was capable of to give her half a chance. She sped up slightly, squealing slightly as he came level with her and shot her a familiar cheeky look, despite his lupine features. She grinned back at him but it turned to a scream as she went tumbling down into a great gap in the floor. She plummeted downwards in the blackness, unable to look back to see if the Doctor had fallen in after her. She closed her eyes as she waited for the impact that she was sure would kill her but nothing came.

An odd sense came over her as she felt herself slow to a more sedate pace, almost floating downwards in the darkness. She righted herself so that her legs rather than her head were pointed downwards. She became aware of a figure floating beside her and forced open her eyes. The Doctor was looking around them in confusion as he too floated in the blackness.

"Well it's a change," he said, "At least we don't have to run anymore. You alright?"

"Yeah," breathed Rose, "Thought I was done for though. Did you see what we fell into?"

"A hole," said the Doctor, somehow managing to raise one fluffy eyebrow, "Other than that no idea, I tumbled in right after you. Was really wishing I'd transformed into something feline though, could have landed on my feet then though I suppose I've already used up my nine lives."

Rose rolled her eyes as he began to ramble on in her head, cursing the fact that she couldn't even put her fingers in her ears to block him out. She reached around her with her hands, unable to hit anything solid to denote a wall or surface.

"When do you think we'll land?" she said, wishing she could see something other than her companion in the darkness.

"Your guess is as good as mine," said the Doctor, "Could be as long as the path we've run along, could be longer. Absolutely no way of telling unless…hold out your hand."

Rose did as she was told and watched the Doctor close his eyes for a second. She jumped slightly in surprise as the sonic screwdriver settled in her hand. She closed her hand around it like a lifeline and held it close to her chest. She heard the little device click in her hand as the Doctor made the settings change.

"Right, flick it on and point it downwards," he said, watching Rose as she handled the small device. The sonic screwdriver gave a series of beeps and Rose heard the Doctor growl both in the darkness and in her mind.

"Lot of use that is," he mumbled, "Might as well get rid of it."

"No!" cried Rose, cradling the device protectively, "I'll keep hold of it if I must but you're not getting rid of it, it's the only thing from our world we've got right now."

"It's a manifestation Rose and its proving useless."

"Even so," said Rose pocketing the screwdriver and giving him a defiant look, unhappy when he didn't return her look and instead stared intently down. She heard a faint ticking and looked down at her watch before realising that it was growing in pitch.

"Ha! Clocks, original," said the Doctor beside her.

Rose looked up in alarm as clocks of all shapes and sizes floated by her in the darkness, all ticking away. She couldn't help giggling as she found herself thinking of children's stories and Disney films.

"Its like Alice in Wonderland," she said, causing the Doctor to give her a cutting look, "What? It is! All tumbling down holes and weird things happening."

"Well just don't go putting anything that says 'Eat Me' in your mouth for goodness sakes. I don't want a ten foot Rose or a two inch Rose. I suppose you'll fit in with the flower garden though, do you know the words to Golden Afternoon?"

"You really are quite sad aren't you?" said Rose reaching out to fuss him, "The mighty Time Lord who has an intimate knowledge of Disney movies and children's books and as for me putting things in my mouth mister, you're the one with the oral fixation not me."

"Says the girl who had an obsession with boy bands," said the Doctor.

Rose was about to protest when she realised that the clocks had been replaced by posters of various nineties boy bands and she couldn't help but blush. She searched for a witty retort but found nothing came to mind. All thinking was halted as she began to speed up again, tumbling once again in the blackness. The wind was forced from her as she hit the floor with a thud but it was the sound of a yelp as the Doctor hit the ground beside her that worried her more. She pushed to her feet, rushing to the Doctor's side as he lay unmoving on the ground. She noticed the blood on the fur around his eye and shook him gently, begging him to wake and tell her he was ok. The blue light she had seen before surrounded him and she was forced to step back as it grew too bright for her to look at.

As the light dispersed she saw the Doctor once again in his normal form, a inch long gash on his forehead bleeding down onto his eyebrow. She quickly searched his pockets for a handkerchief to dab at the blood, urging him to wake. She was relieved as she heard him groan and saw his eyes flutter open. He looked up at her before smiling, his hand coming up to cup her cheek, pulling back slightly as he realised that his hand was once again normal rather than a giant paw. He winced as she dabbed lightly at the cut on his head.

"We landed then," he said, gingerly sitting up and looking around the room they had landed in. The floor they had landed on was a pure white marble and the walls showed the same. Candles burned in holders on the walls but other than that there was nothing apparent in the room, no windows and no doors. The Doctor pushed up to his feet much to Rose's protests and began to circle to room, checking the walls for any creases or marks that would denote the door. Rose sat and watched him in silence as he paced, wondering if he had always been that tall or his hair that length. After many minutes he finally dropped down to sit beside her and laid his head against her shoulder.

"Nothing," he breathed, "Not a crack anywhere."

Rose kissed the top of his head and brought an arm round his back, "Something will appear," she said, "Just give it time."

The Doctor switched their positions so that she was cradled against him, her fingers searching beneath his two outer jackets to rest against his shirt, over one of his hearts. The firm beat comforted her somewhat in the silence of the room. It wasn't long before Rose felt her eyelids growing heavy and sleep touching at her consciousness. She stifled a yawn but the Doctor caught it anyway and rubbed her back gently. He released her enough to allow him to shrug off his coat before scooting them over to one of the walls, resting his back against it as he encouraged her to lay with her head on his legs. He covered her with his coat and soon felt her head grow heavy against him as she drifted into dreams.

XXXX

The first thing the Doctor was aware of was the cool breeze against his face and secondly the softness of the ground beneath him and the roughness at his back. He blinked open his eyes, the first thing to come to his vision being the sleeping form of Rose still sprawled across his lap but the second caused him to jump in alarm. Gone was the marble room they had tumbled into and in its place was a sun dappled wood, fresh and new. Lush green leaves hung languidly on the trees, altering the light until everything shimmered with a summery glow. Rose began to stir against him and immediately sat up as she realised something was amiss around her.

"What the…?"

"I know," said the Doctor, "You remember going to sleep in a marble room don't you?"

"Yeah," said Rose, glancing around the small wood and up into the tree they rested against.

"Good, at least I've not gone crazy," said the Doctor, "Well crazier. How we ended up here though I have no idea. Seems familiar though, like a memory long forgotten."

"Looks like any other wood I suppose," said Rose, pushing up to standing and handing the Doctor back his coat, "Nothing particular or peculiar, just a wood."

"Hmm," mumbled the Doctor wandering around the small coppice and peering at the various species of trees, muttering away from himself. Rose could see his face darken slightly but paid it no heed as her stomach growled. She gazed around herself and her eyes settled on a small bush bearing some weird shaped orange fruit that looked like a tangerine gone wrong.

"Well at least there's food," she said reaching out and pulling one of the fruits off the tree, "What do you reckon it is?"

The Doctor's hand closing over hers stopped her even attempting to take a bite, "What did I say about putting things in your mouth? If that's what I think it is then you'll be dead in seconds if you eat it."

"You know where we are then?" said Rose chucking away the offending fruit.

"I think so but its impossible, guess we can safely say I'm the one manifesting this," said the Doctor resting a hand against a nearby tree, "These trees are only native to one planet, Gallifrey."

Rose pivoted on her heel, looking at the wood anew as the one word that always sent chills down her spine echoed in her head. She breathed in the soft, dewy scent of the wood around them wondering if this was exactly like the Doctor's planet had been or a much happier memory.

"Gallifrey," she breathed, "Its beautiful, so perfect."

The Doctor was silent as he too glanced around the glade, his fingers tracing over various leaves and berries as he came across them. He turned to the opening in the trees where more light came through and began walking towards it. Rose came to his side, keeping the silence partly through the wish to preserve the elegant quiet and partly through her respect for the Doctor, wanting to know his feelings before she spoke again. They began to climb a small hill and soon reached its peak, looking out over a small village not to different from an English countryside Rose knew back home. Beyond the small valley below Rose saw however the one thing that convinced her that she was on an alien world. The city in the distance was reminiscent of the archetypal science fiction capital, great glistening buildings looking sleek and elegant against the orange tinted sky. Grand and ornate they rose almost into the clouds, seemingly part of the natural landscape and a mark of their engineering prowess. The sight was breath taking and Rose couldn't help the exclamation that escaped her.

"Wow!"

"She's quite a sight isn't she?" said the Doctor beside her, his hand slipping into hers, "I know this is only my imagination creating this but I'm glad you got to see it, if only like this."

"Its beautiful," said Rose, "I never…I've thought about what it must look like so often but I never imagined this. Its so warm and bright and wonderful."

"The better effects of global warming, we're slightly closer to our sun than Earth is to yours," said the Doctor, pointing to the great orange orb in the sky before tracing his finger along the skyline to the city, "That's the Capitol, our main centre for the whole planet, it stretches out a lot more but only those pinnacles are allowed to be seen, the rest are below the level of the hills to preserve the landscape."

"You have one main city for the whole planet?" asked Rose, "Are you all one country then?"

"No," said the Doctor, "There are eight continents and each has many countries but we…the planet is more unified than Earth, all communities working together."

"Sounds like Utopia," said Rose, "Everyone getting along."

"Working together does not mean getting along nor does it make this place a paradise, it makes for stuffy overbearing politicians intent on making everyone conform to their ideals of a perfect world," said the Doctor before he glanced back down to the village below them, "Its places like that that are the real paradise, simple, nothing to interfere."

"Its very pretty," said Rose taking his hand, "Like a chocolate box."

The Doctor smiled down at her, "I'm glad you like it," he said, "Because that's the village where I was born."

He had taken off down the hill before Rose got even a moment to question him further. She followed him down the hill, noticing the bounce in his step increase as his pace sped up on his approach to the tiny village. They passed through a high wooden gate, marked with symbols Rose only recognized as the Doctor's intricate script. Once passed the gates the Doctor paused, glancing around himself in disbelief. People stood all around them, dressed in fashions Rose assumed were popular on the planet but would never cut it on twenty-first century Earth. They were seemingly going about their daily business, carts selling various food items, a shop open with fabrics of all colours and styles, children playing at a game seated on the dusty floor but they were all standing perfectly still. They looked as if someone had taken a photograph and turned it to reality.

Rose shuddered as she looked around herself at the staring sightless eyes. The Doctor walked over to the nearest person, a woman with a basket under her arm and a child secured to her side with a strong grip. He peered at her, moving his hand in front of her eyes to gage a reaction but there wasn't even a flicker of recognition on her face. He reached out a tentative hand and brushed the skin of her cheek. He snatched his hand back quickly.

"She's freezing," he said, looking around at the people around him, "What could all this mean? Why aren't they moving? Why aren't they…"

The Doctor trailed off as he began sprinting through the village, weaving in and out of the statue like people. Rose hurried to keep up with him, having to slow herself as she was unable to navigate the people as well as he. She saw him come to a stop outside a small house set a little way off from the others, fidgeting as his hand paused over the handle. She hurried to his side and looked up at the quaint little house.

"This is your house isn't it?" she said, easily reading his expression.

"When I was very little yes," said the Doctor, "I was born here."

He pushed down on the handle and eased the door open, the creak of the hinges sounding all too loud in the silence. They stepped inside to the welcoming light streaming through the windows, illuminating the modest hallway and front room, a strange mix of futuristic technology and country charm. The Doctor didn't pause long enough for Rose to properly admire the room, hurrying through the house until he came to what looked like a kitchen. Rose paused in the doorway as the Doctor went in, recognizing the woman who stood there, still as those outside. The Doctor circled the young brunette, looking almost older than her even in his boyish form. He waved in front of her eyes and gripped her shoulder firmly, talking away to her in a language Rose recognized as his own.

The Doctor stepped back before slumping into one of the chairs nearby, "Nothing," he said reverting back to English, "Absolutely nothing. What's the point of all this? Gallifrey I can understand, if anything is in my head this place is at the forefront but why the stillness, the silence. What am I meant to do?"

"Calm down," said Rose kneeling at his feet and folding her hands over his, "You need to approach this like a scientist. I know its hard, I can't believe what this must be doing to you right now but you've got to remember that this isn't real. Its in our heads."

The Doctor squeezed her hands gently, "What would I do without you to keep my grounded hey? This is so hard Rose, seeing this place again, seeing her."

"I know," said Rose, "I know its different but I think I felt similar when we met my Dad."

The Doctor nodded before releasing her hands and pushing back up to his feet. He went to his mother's figure once more and circled her again, "She looks about the age she was before she died and what she's wearing, everything seems to fit in. There doesn't seem to be anyone else home, we didn't pass anyone so its probably before the proper summer, we're probably all at school. I…"

The Doctor took a step back as the woman beside him moved, snapping out of her statue like state. The silence remained though as she moved to lean on the window frame, playing with a pretty purple flower in a small ceramic vase. The Doctor waved in front of her once more as she failed to acknowledge anyone in the room but she stared right through his hand as if he wasn't there. Rose watched on as he spoke to her in his own language, gradually growing more desperate as she failed to acknowledge him. The woman turned to stare beyond him, to the door they had come through, opening her arms in a welcoming embrace. Both the Doctor and Rose turned to the door to see a blond boy of no more than twelve and dressed in fashions slightly more ornate than his mother's . He smiled warmly and ran to her embrace, holding onto her tightly.

Rose saw the Doctor pale dramatically as he looked on the scene and needed no prompting to recognise who the boy was.

"Doctor?" she said, catching his attention from the scene, "That's you isn't it?"

The Doctor nodded, watching the boy in the silence as he talked animatedly to his mother, pulling a book from the bag slung across him; the same bag Rose realised as the one he still carried around now whenever they would be off the TARDIS for more than a day. The woman listened intently as her young son prattled on, his arms flailing as he tried to explain whatever he was showing her in the book.

"I was explaining the latest developments of the Type 40 exploration TARDIS," said the Doctor, "I'd learned about them that week at the college I went to in the Capitol and I couldn't wait until the end of term to tell her. I wanted to be a pilot, to travel around and see the universe but she brought my head down from the clouds as always."

Rose looked on as the boy's expression fell to one of concealed despair as his mother spoke softly to him. Closing the book before him and resting a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"What did she say to you?" said Rose, wanting to reach out and comfort the child before her.

"She reminded me who I was, the limits of what I could achieve," said the Doctor, "She wanted my dream as much as I did but she knew better than I how difficult a path like that would be, the prejudice I'd face as I reached for something I wasn't allowed."

"Prejudice?" said Rose, "What do you mean?"

"People looked down on people like me trying to become Time Lords."

"But you are a Time Lord, you did make it," said Rose, "And why should they look down on you? What was wrong with you?

"I didn't have a Dad," said the Doctor, "Well, not one that could admit to having me anyway. My Father was a senator in the Capitol, to all intents and purposes a model citizen. He was married; had grown up children, all upstanding members of the community. He met my Mother when he came to our village on a diplomatic visit and they fell in love. He kept her a secret, sending money to support her when my elder brother and sister were born and then supporting all three of us secretly, sending us to good schools in the Capitol but he could never admit to us for fear of losing his standing. He was of high birth, my Mother of a lower class, their union outside of marriage was frowned on and so would be our existence. It was no better though for us not to be acknowledged by him, we were from outside the Capitol with no connections, I was not destined for the role of a Time Lord."

"But that's so…so…" said Rose.

"I know," said the Doctor, "But that's the way it was."

"What changed?" said Rose, her gaze flicking between the Doctor and his younger form who was now buried in his book as his mother busied herself.

"She died," said the Doctor, "I got my dream at the highest price possible."

"I'm sorry," said Rose, taking his hand, "You said she got sick when you were twelve but she looks fine, it must have been quick."

"I…NO!" cried the Doctor going up behind the boy and looking down at the book in his hands, "No! No! Don't make me watch this?"

"Doctor what's the matter?" said Rose grabbing his shaking shoulders, shocked by his outburst.

"She dies tonight," he said, "She dies as soon as the Sun goes down and I know by some twisted sense in this vile place that I'll be forced to watch it."

"How can she die tonight? You said you were at school when she died, you said she got sick."

"I lied," said the Doctor, "I wasn't at school, I ran away and came home."

"Why lie about that?" said Rose, smoothing her hands on his chest, trying to bring him some form of comfort.

"Because I've had to lie for all these years since," said the Doctor trembling, "Because if they'd found out what I'd seen then I would have died too and I'm too much of a coward."

"I don't understand," said Rose, "Who would have hurt you?"

"The people who hurt her," said the Doctor, "She was murdered Rose, my mother was murdered while I was hidden away from view. I had to hear her screaming and it has haunted me every night since and now I have to watch it all over again."

Rose looked up as she realised the room had darkened somewhat as they talked, twilight settling upon the house and bathing it in a gentle light as mother and child sat down together once more, sharing some meal Rose could only guess at. The perfect picture about to end. Rose froze in fear as she heard a heavy hand hammer on the front door.


	10. REDRUM

"Can't we do something?" cried Rose as sound suddenly came to her all too loudly from the silence. She heard a man's voice from the door, unable to identify what he was saying but imagining it was a command to open up. She heard the faint sounds of the couple at the table, whispering frantically.

"We can't touch them, what can we do?" said the Doctor reaching out once more to his mother only to have his hand pass straight through her.

"Then we get out of here," said Rose grabbing his arm and dragging him to the door leading to the gardens, "I don't want you to have to watch this again!"

"I can't leave her," said the Doctor, "I can't leave her to face it alone."

"Doctor there's nothing we can do, please!"

The Doctor wouldn't budge and Rose knew there was no persuading him. The hammering continued as she watched the young woman before her pull back a knitted rug and pull open a concealed basement hatch, ushering her son inside as he protested in desperate whispers. She watched as mother and son exchanged a desperate embrace before he descended into the darkness below, the lid closing firmly behind him and being covered once more with the rug. The young woman brushed her hands over her clothes, before quickly stashing her son's books and bag in a nearby cupboard. Stilling her apparent nerves she went into the adjoining room and Rose heard the door open and the sound of her voice.

Rose tried in vain once again to pull the Doctor away from the scene as his mother was bundled roughly back into the kitchen by four masked men, all armed with alien weapons that were still easily identifiable as knives.

"Please Doctor, come away from this, please don't watch it!" cried Rose tugging onto his arm but the Doctor was unresponsive, standing stock still as he stared at the scene before him, "Please, please move. Don't stay, there's nothing you can do."

Rose wished she could understand what was being said as she watched the men gag and bind the brunette woman, seeing her fighting for all she was worth as they taunted her. Without thinking Rose struck out with her fists at the nearest captor only to have her hands go straight through him. She turned back to the Doctor, trying to push him towards the door but she had no strength against him in his current state. Every ounce of his strength rooting him to the spot and the horror before him.

"Please," she begged, hearing a familiar tone from the woman behind her and knowing that she was begging for her life. Rose turned to see one of the attackers with a syringe filled with a light blue substance, the others holding down the woman as he injected into her arm. The Doctor's mother kept kicking and screaming as best she could, refusing to give up the fight despite whatever they had injected her with. She managed to kick her legs free from her bounds and landed an impressive kick at the jaw of her nearest attacker. He fell back in agony, the crack of bone easily signifying that his jaw had been broken. The others doubled their efforts in restraining her but she fought hard, managing to shake another off before she was pinned down against the table, her legs rebound tighter than before.

Rose saw the glitter of a knife as one of the captors held it above her, encouraged by his injured colleague as he looked on from his place on the floor. The muffled screams of the woman on the table forced tears to Rose's eyes and she prayed for it all to be over, for her to wake up and find it was all a dream. Her eyes landed once more on the Doctor, seeing the horror on his face at the scene he would only have heard before. Using everything she had in her she threw herself at him, managing to barrel him to the floor and hold him down, shielding him from the scene behind her. She shut her eyes tight as she heard the sound of metal meeting flesh, repeating and repeating with speed and ferocity she had never witnessed before. She heard the muffled screams continuing, amazed at the strength in the woman they were harming; hearing her hang on with every atom of strength in her small frame.

The frenzied attack stopped suddenly and she heard the attackers run for the back door, throwing it open and disappearing into the night beyond, laughing with glee at the atrocity they had just committed. Rose stayed on the ground, the Doctor no longer fighting against her, instead silent and still against the cold floor. She stroked his hair as best she could, muttering what she hoped were words of comfort but knowing they sounded more like gibberish, the shock setting into her and her grip on reality fading. The only thing that kept her grounded was the wish to protect the man beneath her, conceal him from the horror laid out in the one place he should have felt safe.

There was a steady thump from the floor beneath the rug and it came several more times before the trap door flew open. Rose turned to see the younger Doctor climb from his concealment and rush to where his mother lay on the table. She choked on a sob as she got to her feet, watching the boy as he stroked back his mother's hair, managing to keep himself together despite the carnage before him. His own mother's blood stained his clothes as he leant over her, pulling the gag away from her mouth before pressing a kiss to her forehead and begging her to wake. His words failed translation but Rose could easily guess at them. She was shocked to hear a female voice, strained and breathy respond to him. A thin ivory hand stained in blood coming up to tame down the wild blonde hair on her son's head.

Rose felt the Doctor stand beside her, his hand automatically slipping in to hers as he too watched the scene, his face ashen and drawn as he remembered the remaining moments of his mother's life. There was a frantic conversation going on before them, mother pleading and son begging as he untied her bonds but it was cut short all too soon. When Rose had seen her father die there had been a moment when he had such a look in his eyes, as if seeing her had been the most perfect moment of his life as it came to its end. Rose saw that same look now as the young woman looked up at her son, her eyes smiling despite the pain in her beautiful face before they closed for the last time. She choked on a sob as she heard the desperate cry from the little boy before her as he threw himself down onto his mother's body, weeping in despair against her.

She had no longer to watch the scene as the Doctor slumped to the floor beside her, sliding down the wall and burying his face in his hands. She hurriedly sat beside him, finding the urge to take his hand rather than embrace him and giving into it. His fingers entwined with hers as he raised his head to witness the scene again.

"I tried to wake her," he said, his voice making Rose jump, "I thought if I woke her she might start to regenerate, that's what my people did. She was only on her first life, she should have regenerated. I waited and nothing happened. I found out many years later that they had poisoned her before they had hurt her, injected her with a compound that had been illegal on my planet for years. It stops the regeneration process, renders the person unable to call on their natural abilities to save their life."

Rose watched on as the young boy before her took a blanket from a nearby cupboard and lay it over his mother's body with a reverence far to mature for a boy not even in his teenage years.

"She spoke to me before she died, saying that her attackers had threatened to hunt me down and kill me, that my brother and sister were already dead. She begged me to run away, disguise myself and hide in the dark streets of the Capitol. I had to survive on my own. I did as she asked, I hid in the shadows for nearly two years until I was found by one of the professors at the university, half starved and desperate. He took me in and cared for me. He gave me books and I found myself learning things well above my own age. He took me on as his protégé and even gave me a name, I had feared even to tell him the truth. He used Greek letters to give me a nickname that stayed with me all through university, Theta Sigma. I went to university and became a doctor, I became a Time Lord. My life carried on but there was one question I always carried, why her, why was she killed? It took great courage to track down my father but when I did he knew me, straight away. We met in secret and he told me what had happened. His wife had died and he had wished to bring my mother and us into his home, to make her his wife and 'adopt' her children. His wife's family heard of the plan and worked out that we were the illegitimate family rumoured. They feared my father's fortune would bypass his older children in favour of us, the lower class, so they hired assassins to remove us. Even the higher classes of Gallifrey had their scum. My mother and siblings were executed and I only survived because I hadn't been at school for them to find."

"God Doctor…" murmured Rose, "I wish…I don't know what to say."

"My hatred for my planet, for the class divisions that had murdered my mother. My decision was made there and then, I had to leave and when I got the chance I did. I was eighty years old when I finally had the courage to steal a TARDIS, I ran away with the only person I could truly rely on, the only person other than my father who knew the truth."

"Susan?" said Rose.

The Doctor nodded, distracted from further conversation as the boy before them went around the room, stuffing his bag full of food and valued possessions before wrapping himself in a cape, covering his face and heading for the door. For a second Rose thought they had become apparent to him as he stared directly at them but then he stepped passed and out of the back door, disappearing into the night and leaving the carnage behind him. Rose pushed to her feet, tugging her hand to get the Doctor stand but he resisted.

"Come on," she said, "There's nothing here now, we can't stay here."

"I can't leave her," said the Doctor staring at his shoes, "I can't leave her until I know what happened to her, who found her."

"Doctor, this is from your memory," said Rose, "We could be waiting here for nothing. Come away from this dreadful place."

"I won't leave her again," said the Doctor getting to his feet and going to the covered body on the table, "I left her alone before, I should have stayed."

"And died when they found you?"

"Death would have been a blessing, one I still pray for now," said the Doctor, ghosting his hand over the fabric covering his mother.

"How can you say that?" said Rose, "You have so much to live for, so much she wanted you to live for."

"All I have is the TARDIS," said the Doctor, "All that's left of my home world, none of my family live anymore, my friends are old or dead. I have nothing."

"You've got me," said Rose, "Don't I mean anything?"

The Doctor was silent, still preoccupied with his mother's body.

"Doctor tell me I mean something to you."

"Rose, please just…I want to be alone for a while, can you wait outside," said the Doctor, leaving Rose shocked by the chill to his voice.

"You're sending me away," said Rose, "Pushing me away again, like you always do! I want you to talk to me!"

"Well this isn't about you is it?!" cried the Doctor, turning to face her, a coldness Rose had never seen directed her way before in his eyes, "This is about her. Wait for me outside."

"Why are you being like this?" asked Rose, a slight tremor creeping into her voice, "You're never like this."

"Maybe I've just had enough of stupid ape questions," said the Doctor, "Every time something happens you expect me to come crying to your arms but how can you possibly understand this? What could I possibly gain from you right now?"

"Stop it!" cried Rose, "You're not like this, you don't mean what you're saying. I know you, you're upset, you're lashing out. I understand."

"How can you possibly understand? How can you possibly understand what I'm going through, what all those years were like for me, estranged from my home, the secrets I had to keep? You're just a kid… no, you're just a human!"

"Better a human than a bastard his father was too ashamed to admit to!"

The sound of skin on skin echoed out in the following silence. Rose choked in shock as her hand automatically came up to cup her burning cheek. She felt the tears well in her eyes, both shock and pain hitting her in equal measure as she looked up in disbelief at the man before her, only to find him with the same expression as he stared down at his open palm. He looked up and met her eyes, a more familiar look in his eyes but drowning in the depths of despair.

"Rose," he said reaching out to her.

Rose backed away from him quickly, stumbling over the upturned rug and landing heavily on the floor. She hurried back to her feet, keeping as much distance as possible between them.

"Don't touch me."

"Rose I'm sorry…I didn't…"

"What? You didn't mean to?!" screamed Rose, "That's what Jimmy used to say, that's what he'd say every time he hit me!"

"Rose, please…"

"Get away from me," she cried, fumbling with the handle on the back door, "Just keep away from me."

"Don't run off, I'm sorry," said the Doctor stepping towards her once more. The movement was enough to send Rose running out of the door, tearing off across the long grass separating the house from the hills surrounding. She could hear the Doctor calling out behind her but she carried on regardless, the burning pain in her cheek forcing her onwards. His voice faded into the distance as she hit the hills, clambering up the slope, clawing at the grass to pull her up to the summit. When she reached the top she flopped down into the long grass, throwing a hand over her eyes to block out the stars glittering above her. Only when silence reigned once more did she finally let herself cry.

XXXX

The Doctor sat slumped against the table where his mother lay, his face buried in his hands as he berated himself for his behaviour. Grace's warning echoed in his head, her warning that this world of shadows and memories would force a wedge between him and Rose. He had feared she would be the one tempted away, he never fathomed that he would be the one to force her to leave. He wished he could pull off his own hand, the sting of her skin still lingering to remind him of his crime. He should have left when she had first tried to pull him away, left before the carnage he remembered so vividly had been reeked but he had stayed, some twisted sense of duty forcing him to stay by his mother's side as she died. He didn't even know if what he had witnessed had been real; as a child he had heard the scuffle and the voices, he had seen his mother's decimated body as she lay dying but he hadn't seen how many men had come, what they had looked like. He didn't know where reality began and fantasy ended, everything in the world he had stepped into was out of his control.

In the real world he could understand everything, all things followed his rules with the few exceptions that he merely passed off as not knowing enough about yet. In the real world he was haunted by dreams but he never witnessed them as vividly as now. In the real world he was woken by a gentle voice and equally gentle arms that he would fall into and allow his vulnerability to show, knowing she would never use it against him. He bashed his head back against the leg of the chair as his thoughts fell once more upon Rose and what he had done to her. Her words had hurt but they had been his own fault, he'd treated her poorly, like something he could cast aside without a second thought. He knew he could be dangerous, he knew that he had to control his emotions, his grief and his anger for what had happened in his youth. He had always managed it, kept it down and never lashed out in his anger to a loved one but now the pain had been brought back to the surface, now it bled like a newly open wound and he had struck out at the nearest thing to him.

"Rose I'm so sorry," he muttered to thin air, "Please, please forgive me."

He waited for her faint footfalls, for the sound of the back door creaking as she came back in, tear stained but willing to forgive him. He would run to her, gather her close and press kisses where he had marked her before, easing the pain he had caused her and promising her the way only a lover could that he would never hurt her again. She had said that Jimmy had always apologised; he almost spat at the stupid boys name. The boy who had caused her to leave home too young, to lose her innocence too young for one who couldn't cherish it. The idiot who had made her leave her education, stifling her brilliant mind that could have made her so much more than a South London shop girl. The boy that had shown her that love meant pain, left her distrusting. The Doctor had built that trust again, helped her grow into the brave, courageous person that would run headlong into danger at his side. He stared at his palm in despair as he realised that one stupid act had cost him that trust.

"Oh God what have I done to her?" he said pushing up to his feet and casting one final glance at the shrouded body next to him. He made for the door, throwing it open and looking out into the night, trying to get a glimpse of golden hair highlighted by the starlight of his home world. Nothing came to him so he took off in the direction he had seen her run in, towards the hills and their woods beyond. Hurrying his feet he ran into the night, a prayer that he would find her beating strongly in his hearts.

XXXX

Rose folded her arms closer around her as she wandered in the dim forest. She cursed her choice to walk this way but having lost her bearings hours before she knew she had no hope of going back to find the Doctor. She knew she should stay still, that he would find her but part of her was still angry and wanted to make him suffer a little longer. She knew it had been her fault that he had struck her. She had never expected such harm from him, he was dangerous to his enemies but even in their most heated arguments he had never raised a hand to her. She had provoked him when she knew he was vulnerable rather than letting him rant, venting the emotions he had clearly kept bottled up for so long. His mother had been murdered before his eyes and she had acted like a petulant teenager when he had pushed her comfort away. He made the ape comments whenever he was angry or hurt and he had been feeling both those emotions greater than ever in that moment, he had reverted back to his default setting; closed off, superior. Rose had seen it so many times before. Usually she ignored it, letting him rant and then when he had calmed showing him that his words meant nothing to her, that she understood.

This world they had stepped into had turned everything on its head and she wasn't even sure if they were in the real world or not anymore. She could remember stepping into the mirror, seeing her body lying on the floor of the dusty old library but she couldn't be sure. So much had happened, so many unexplainable, things. She had witnessed the Doctor turn from a man to a wolf, a sight she had accepted then but now could only see as some weird trick of her imagination, it wasn't possible. She had fallen hundreds of feet only to land with no more than a bruise and she had fallen asleep only to wake on a planet she had seen in bits only days before. Nothing made sense.

Rose rubbed at her temples as she tried to make sense of the world around her, the darkness doing nothing for her already troubled imagination. She heard the scuffle of something in the underbrush and glanced around her, wandering if Gallifrey had its own version of wolves that would prey on unsuspecting travels who stupidly wandered into dark forests after a ridiculous fight. Sounds she could only describe as chilling fluttered to her senses and she could swear she could her the sound of bones cracking against sharp teeth. She contemplated climbing one of the large trees around her but the shriek of something big above her halted the idea as soon as it began. Her feet began to hurry of their own accord, her hands wringing against each other as she performed a strange dance of terror, turning to look behind her, running along, slowing down, stopping and leaning towards and particular sound.

She shuddered as the sound of bone on bone echoed again, sounding closer than before. She perched on a nearby tree stump, thinking it better to wait for the Doctor to find her but then sprung back up to her feet, continuing her path as she realised she would be a sitting duck for any beast on her heels. Her feet crunched noisily on the forest floor, cracking every possible fallen branch like a homing beacon to her predator.

"Its not real, its not real," she muttered to herself, "Its all an illusion, nothing can hurt you."

She heard a crack of twigs behind her and the deep grumble of something large. She stifled a yelp of alarm, speeding up her feet, desperately trying not to run.

"The Doctor's coming for you, he's gonna come and find you," she said, "He's gonna come and say you're silly for being afraid."

She heard the unmistakable sound of heavy paws on the forest floor, gaining on her as they increased in pace. She began running, glancing back over her shoulder trying to catch a glimpse of whatever it was pursuing her. She stumbled, barely keeping her feet but forcing herself onwards as she heard the puffs of breath grow closer, almost able to feel the warm exhalations on her ankles. A low hanging branch ahead caught her attention and she readied herself. As it came within reach she leapt at it, pulling herself up and into the tree. When she had climbed as high as she could before the branches grew to thin to support her she looked down. The darkness made it impossible to discern the creature circling the bottom of the tree but she could hear its breathing and caught the occasional flash of eerily green eyes as it looked up at her.

"Go away!" she whispered, "Leave me alone."

The beast it seemed though, meant to stake this out for the long haul.

XXXX

The Doctor couldn't remember if he had seen the oddly shaped tree before, it looked familiar but then so did every other tree that he passed. Rose had left an easy trail for him to follow but it had stopped suddenly beside and small stream and he feared she had crossed it but he could find no more tracks either side. He had tried calling out in the darkness but the only thing to answer him had been some irate bird, upset by its disturbed sleep. He began to fear the worst as familiar noises he had been taught to fear in his childhood overtook the silence of the night. He knew the dangers that lurked in the woods of Gallifrey but wandered if they would have any power over Rose as she knew nothing of them. Did his imagination put him alone at threat but her as well. Knowing the malevolent nature of the place he was sure that it would mean as much danger for her as it did him.

He kept pushing onwards, following what he hoped was her path. He felt totally disoriented, like he was walking in ever closing circles. Everything seemed ominous and oppressive. He couldn't shut his eyes against the world, every time he did the image of his mother's bloodied body or Rose's anguished face surfaced causing him more pain than before. He tried to peer deeper into the darkness, searching with heightened senses for the slightest glimmer of Rose's presence but nothing came to him but the darkness and the sound of the creatures that lay in wait for their latest quarry. He cursed his choice to ever pass across the mirror into this world of madness but then he couldn't remember how long it was since he had. Perhaps he had passed back, the place was so disorientating maybe he had passed back through. Perhaps the world he had left had been the fantasy.

He tried to focus on the thought of Rose, if they were together things would make a lot more sense, they could ground each other. She made everything make sense, if she was there then whatever she saw as real would be real to him too but then, the power of manifestation apparent in this world could result in his creating his own Rose rather than finding the real one. Was that even possible?

The Doctor slumped down on a nearby tree stump and buried his head in his hands as he tried to quiet the thousand and one theories rushing through his brain at one hundred miles an hour. He closed his eyes against his palms, focusing on what he knew for fact. He knew he and Rose had been frightened by dreams and that investigation had led him to pass through the mirror in the Cloister Room library, a library he had never known existed before. He growled against his hands as even fact seemed to make little sense anymore. He knew he was losing, that this was exactly what his enemy wanted; to confuse him, bewilder him into making foolish decisions. He had to look at the situation objectively, achieve one goal and then another. His first goal was obvious, find Rose. He had to find Rose and whether she forgave him or not they had to work together to get out of this mad house. Secondly, he had to work out what was manipulating their minds and work out a way to defeat it. Thirdly, they had to get home.

He stood only to topple back down again as a wave of dizziness washed over him. He put a hand to his head, feeling the growing fever beneath his palm as colours swam before his eyes. He swallowed back the rising sickness and tried once again to get to his feet, steadying himself on a nearby tree trunk. He gripped on to the rough bark as his feet refused to co-operate with him.

"Get a grip," he muttered to himself, concentrating on pushing back the ever swimming vision before him. He staggered forward a few paces before having once again to hold himself upright against one of the trees.

"What's the matter with me?"

He shut his eyes, concentrating on his body and trying to fix on the sight of his sickness. He felt detached, unable to even identify where his hand ended. He forced open his eyes, wishing he hadn't done so as what was a wood before now seemed nothing but a myriad of colours. He knew he was losing consciousness and his only hope that Rose was safe, that no harm would come to her. He focused on her as blackness swum over him and he collapsed to the ground.

XXXX

Rose gripped a little more onto the branch she was perched on as a wave of nausea hit her. She used her free arm to hug her stomach, wondering were the sudden sickness was coming from. She could hear the beast still prowling below and wondered if it would disappear if she chose to throw up on it. She felt too hot and carefully peeled off her jacket, leaving her in a pale blue t-shirt. She felt her forehead, finding heat and moisture there. She sighed, this was no time to get ill. She put it down to stress, her body responding to everything she'd seen. She willed the Doctor to her side, praying he'd found her path and that he hadn't too been attacked by whatever was stalking her.

The beast below thumped into the tree, sending the branches shuddering. Rose gripped on, tightening her arms as a wave of dizziness threatened to send her toppling into the waiting jaws below.

"Jesus!" she muttered, "Doctor where are you when I need you?"

Nothing but the familiar breathing below came back to her and she knew she'd have to get out of this alone. She began to look around for anything that could make a suitable weapon. Nothing was apparent until she glanced upwards. A suitably thick branch hung loosely from above, close to falling and easy enough to pull off and use as some sort of club against her predator. She reached up for it but her fingers didn't even brush it. She looked at the rickety branches above, wandering if they could hold her weight. She gingerly got to her feet, swaying slightly as the dizziness refused to subside.

"Come on!" she encouraged herself, "Sooner you get it sooner you can get down."

She held on to the trunk as she carefully placed one foot and then another on the flimsy branches. They seemed to hold and she grew in confidence, climbing a little higher and faster. She got close enough to the branch and reached out one hand to grab it. It didn't come away as easily as she expected and she had to lean a little further to twist it loose. Her hand slipped from the trunk and she flailed in thin air, trying to find a hand hold. A wave of blackness hit her and she her head span. She tried in vain to grab a branch but to no avail. She began to fall, catching several branches on the way down. She didn't feel the impact of her fall. She was unconscious before she even reached the ground.


	11. Home at Last

"Take your time Rose, don't rush. Open your eyes when you're ready."

Rose could hear a strangely familiar voice above her and felt the cool material on her brow, quelling the fever she still felt burning there. The voice kept talking to her, deep and calm; wrapping around her like a warm blanket on a cold day. She felt the brush of fingers against her palm and flexed her own instinctively.

"That's it, good girl. Can you feel that? Squeeze my fingers if you can hear me."

She did as she was told, closing her fingers around the familiar hand and feeling the strength flow from him to her. The cloth was replaced by warm lips against her forehead and she was once again told to open her eyes. She fought against the tonne weights on her eyelashes, only managing to flutter them enough to let in a crack of bright light. She winced and screwed her eyes shut.

"Too bright," she said, finding her throat raspy and dry.

"Easily fixed," said the voice beside her. She heard the sound of leather brushing against the bed sheets and caught a the familiar scent that flew to her. Calvin Klein and something wonderfully alien. Heavy footfalls crossed the room and even without opening her eyes she felt the lights dim. The figure returned to her side.

"Ok, try it now."

Her eyelashes fluttered against her cheeks before her eyes opened fully, drinking in the deep blue pools above her. She smiled, taking in the strongly angled features she loved so well. He smiled back, that familiar manic grin that she missed. She frowned, why did she miss it? Something brushed at her consciousness but she pushed it back down, smiling once more as two strong arms reached beneath her shoulders to heave her up into a warm embrace.

"God I thought I'd lost you there," came the warm, northern tones in her ear, "Don't you ever frighten me like that again."

Rose hugged him back, burying her face in the leather at his shoulder as her hand gently caressed the short, black hair at the back of his neck, "What happened to me?"

"Don't you remember?"

Rose pulled back to look at him and shook her head, "I don't remember anything," she said as he seemed to grow very interested in his Doctor Martins, "Doctor, what happened?"

"It was my fault," he muttered, "We'd just got back from saving your Dad and I got a bit ahead of myself, showing off for the new guest and all. The TARDIS gave a jolt when we were flying and you fell against one of the guide rails in the control room, you hit your head pretty hard. You've …you've been unconscious for nearly a month. I thought I was going to lose you."

"A month," said Rose, reaching up to feel the bandage wrapped round the back of her head. She winced as she reached a tender point, "Oww."

"I can give you some more pain killers if you need them," said the Doctor, gently lowering her back against the bed.

"Nah," said Rose, glancing round the med room, feeling as if something was amiss but not able to put her finger on it, "I'll be fine. Have you been sitting here all the time?"

The Doctor subconsciously traced the noticeable stubble on his chin and his eyes showed how dishevelled he knew he must look, "Sort of, your Dad's been here too obviously. Actually, I'd better go tell him you're awake. First time in ages he's given up your side to rest and you wake up without him."

"Wait," said Rose, grabbing his sleeve as he made to get up, "Did you just say my Dad? My Dad's dead Doctor."

"Course he's not, he was but he isn't now," said the Doctor peering down at her in concern, "Can't you remember what happened?"

Rose shook her head, her head pounding as she tried to recollect the events that lead to her dead father being on board, "I remember we went back to 1987 and he was there and I saved him from the car. The Reapers came and we hid in the Church. You tried to get the TARDIS back but I touched the baby me and you got eaten. Dad killed himself so we could go back to normal."

The Doctor raised an eyebrow, "That bang on the head has effected you more than I thought. We went to 1987 yes and you, bad little ape that you are, saved your Dad from the car that should have killed him. The Reapers came but you found the TARDIS key in my pocket. We waited for the TARDIS to appear and then I went back to fix the time line. Your Dad wasn't meant to be alive so we staged the crash and then he came with us in the TARDIS, to travel with us. Then you had your accident."

"Oh…" said Rose, her brow creasing in confusion, "I don't remember it that way."

"You're memory will come back with time," said the Doctor pressing a kiss to her forehead, "Give it a chance. I'd better get your Dad."

"Will you tell Jack that I'm ok too?" asked Rose, pushing up to sitting.

"Whose Jack?" said the Doctor, leaning on the door frame.

"Our companion…at least, I think he was…we met him in World War Two…then he…he died, didn't he?"

"There's never been a Jack onboard Rose, you were probably dreaming," said the Doctor with a smile, "Just you, me and your Dad, proper team. Give us a mo."

Rose watched his back as he disappeared out of the room. Something wasn't right but she couldn't place what. She flopped back on the pillows and patted herself down, finding herself in jeans and a blue t-shirt. She slipped her hand into her pocket and felt two things there. She pulled out a cylindrical device with a blue bulb on the end. She didn't know what it was but she knew it was something useful. She put it back into her pocket before taking out another item. It was a simple black wallet. She opened it, finding it empty aside from several pictures. One was of her Mum, drunk one New Years and wearing sparkly antennae. The second was of Mickey standing beside the first car he had ever bought, beaming with pride. Rose wondered why a slight twinge of sadness hit her when she looked at his smile. The third was of a man she didn't recognize. He was handsome in a geeky sort of way, black rimmed glasses perched on his nose as he peered over them at her, giving her a cheeky grin. She found herself smiling back, her heart rate increasing slightly as she looked at him. No name came to her and she struggled to remember who he was. She blushed as a wave of lust hit her as an image of him wrapped around her came to mind. She shook her head and quickly stuffed the photo back in the wallet and returning it to her pocket. Something was definitely wrong.

XXXX

The Doctor knew he was in a very different place to where he should be when he awoke to the sound of birds singing. He tried to open his eyes but the sunlight forced him to scrunch them closed. He fidgeted in the bed he lay in, feeling the soft sheets and warm pillow coaxing him back to sleep. He wanted to succumb but something told him to open his eyes. He squinted in the bright light, peering round the room and finding himself in familiar surroundings. He looked up as he heard the door ahead of him open and a face he thought he'd never see again popped round.

"Susan?" he managed to growl out, his throat raw.

"By Rassilon!" she cried, "You're awake! Great-Grandfather hurry! Grandfather's woken up."

In a flurry of movement she was beside him on the bed, hugging him close as if he might disappear in any instant. The Doctor returned her embrace, too overwhelmed at being reunited with her to question her outburst.

"How are you here?" he asked pulling back, "You…you died, in the Time War."

"I was missing for a while," said Susan, patting down his hair, "But they found me. We thought we'd lost you until the TARDIS crashed, you regenerated but it went a bit wrong; you've been sleeping for nearly seven hundred and twenty-two hours."

The Doctor didn't have any more time to speak as another figure ran into the room. The elderly white haired man hurried in as best he could, rushing to the opposite side of the bed and taking the Doctor's hand in his own.

"You woke up!" he said, tears forming in his eyes, "By Rassilon I thought you weren't going to make it. I've been begging your mother to watch over you, rest her soul, and she has answered my prayers at last."

"Father?" said the Doctor, "But you…"

"Hush now. I know things are a little confusing right now. Last time you were awake we were on the brink of destruction but here we are thanks to you. You have been honoured by the Senate for your bravery, you managed to wipe out the entire Dalek fleet single handed with that plan of yours. Rassilon as my witness I thought that blast will destroy us still but then you installed those shields and the planet and our sun were protected. I always knew you would do great things my boy."

"But…" said the Doctor, looking between the two smiling faces, "You died, everyone died, the planet was destroyed. I was left on my own."

"If we died," said Susan, "How are we here now? Can't you remember what happened?"

"I…I released the Eye of Harmony and the planet died. I went travelling alone and…there was this girl…a pretty, blonde girl and we travelled…she…I loved her, I think," said the Doctor, his brow creasing in confusion, "Everything is a little muddled."

"You have everything there," said Susan, "Just the wrong way round. You were travelling with a blonde girl, you married her and then the war came."

"I…got married? Me?"

"Of course, Reinette wouldn't have it any other way," said the man beside him, "Knew it would take a special kind of lady to tame you and bring you home, never thought it would be a French Lady of Court though."

"Reinette?" said the Doctor, "I married Reinette?"

"Well who else could you marry, you were besotted with her the second we met her. Begged her to come with us and nearly buggered up the timeline, the Council was not happy with you!" said Susan, adjusting the blankets around him, "I think we'd better leave you to sleep for a while, you'll feel better after a nap. I'll call Reinette home. I don't know, she doesn't leave your side for the whole time you're here and the one day she decides to venture into the Capitol you decide to wake up. You're stubborn as ever!"

The Doctor was too bemused to speak as goodbyes were said and he was ordered to sleep once more. When the bedroom door finally closed he sat up, seeing a pinstripe suit and long fawn jacket strewn at the foot of the bed. He glanced around the room, recognizing it as a chamber he had once stayed in as a guest of his father but it looked more lived in, feminine influences scattered here and there. He looked over to a vase taking pride of place on top of a bureau and frowned at the flowers he saw there. They weren't from Gallifrey, they were Earth flowers but he could not remember their name. He got to his feet, realising with some horror that he was dressed in silken, night robes favoured by his people that he found far too disturbing. He stumbled across to the bureau and traced his hands over the intricate red petals, feeling something stir in his chest as he felt their velvet. He pulled one from the vase and inhaled, the heady scent sending waves of pleasure to areas not entirely appropriate. He blushed, glad the room was empty and hastily returned the rose to its place. Rose. The word filled him with a warmth like never before but he had no idea why.

XXXX

Rose stared at her reflection in her bedrooms full length mirror, seemingly examining her clothes but secretly wondering why it no longer felt like home. She heard someone stop in her doorway and felt the pleasurable shudders as she felt his eyes trace her figure. She turned and smiled, beckoning the Doctor over. He obeyed and perched on the end of her bed, still watching her as she fastened her hair up on her head before pulling on a heavy winter coat. She turned to him with a grin.

"Will I do?" she asked, holding her arms out and turning in a circle.

"Perfect," he said standing and taking her hands, deftly slipping warm woolly gloves onto her fingers, "Are you sure you're up to this?"

"You've been stuck here for a month," said Rose, watching her hand as it intertwined with his, "God knows you must be going dotty with just my Dad for company, Mister 'I Don't Do Domestic'!"

"I would have waited an age longer if I had to for you," said the Doctor, pulling her to his leather clad chest and hugging her tight, "I'm so glad I got you back."

Rose didn't answer, content just to feel his warm body against hers. She remembered him feeling cooler to the touch but that didn't matter so long as she was in his arms, where she belonged. He had promised to take her to a planet called Woman Wept, shaped like a lamenting woman he had said. The atmosphere was such that at night the sea would freeze. She was intrigued, glad to be adventuring again after so long. She still couldn't shake the fact though that something was amiss. It was almost as if she knew what happened on the planet, that she had seen it before but the Doctor assured her they had been nowhere near that part of the universe.

"You fallen asleep down there?" came the voice above her, his lips moving the hair on top of her head.

She looked up at him but didn't pull back, "Just thinking," she said softly, hoping her smile concealed the turmoil in her mind. She watched a strange look pass over the Doctor's countenance, a look she had seen before; one that always sent sparks of electricity to her fingertips. The gaze usually only lasted a few seconds but this time it lingered, augmented in its power when his hand came up to brush back a few loose tendrils of hair from her forehead.

"Rose, how far back do you remember?" he asked, his voice slightly gruffer than usual.

"I'm not sure," she said, unable to tear her eyes away from his, "Everything is still a bit fuzzy."

"Do you remember what happened the night before we met your Dad?"

Rose shook her head, "I'm not sure, all round that period is hazy."

The Doctor looked crest fallen and Rose immediately missed the loss of his fingers in her hair. She held onto him a little tighter before he got a chance to pull away.

"What's wrong?" she asked, "What happened before we met my Dad?"

"Doesn't matter."

"It does matter," said Rose, reaching up a hand to turn his face back to hers, "It matters enough for you to have asked me what I remembered."

"I…we…" said the Doctor, "I kissed you and you told me you loved me."

"Oh."

"See, told you it didn't matter. You can't remember, spur of the moment thing. I kiss you, you spare my feelings by pretending you feel the same," said the Doctor, pulling a little more forcefully out of her embrace.

"No!" cried Rose, grabbing his hand as he made to leave, "No, its not that. I honestly can't remember but if you did kiss me then I know whatever I said afterwards to you would have been the truth."

"Really?" said the Doctor, his eyes more animated than she had ever seen them, "Could I…"

"What?"

"Kiss you again?"

Rose felt a small smile touch her lips as he pulled her a little closer. She nodded and it was all the encouragement he needed. Lips pressed to hers with a confidence she hadn't been expecting. Her mind told her that their first kiss should be tender and unsure but she rationalised that this was their second kiss to him and he was probably more sure of their feelings than she was. She closed her eyes, trying to find the place where everything gave over to sensation but it didn't come. Her mind flashed images of gold to her but they made no sense, the only thought that was clear that this felt wrong. His lips didn't fit hers as they should, he didn't hold her like he had done before, his tongue didn't taste like she remembered. She fought the sudden urge to pull away as the image of the stranger in the photograph jumped into her consciousness.

The Doctor slowly released her, not noticing the look of bewilderment on her face but then Rose prided herself on being able to hide when she hadn't enjoyed a kiss; her last months with both Jimmy and Mickey had taught her that. She allowed herself to be pulled back in to another, smaller kiss before a cough at the door caught her attention. She had been shocked by her father's presence on the ship, seemingly the Doctor's best friend and fitting right into the time travelling life she shared with the Doctor. Now, dressed in jeans and a white scarf she was sure she had seen someone else in, he stood in her bedroom doorway, not even flinching as a nine hundred year old alien kissed his only daughter.

"When you two love birds have quite finished I suggest we get down onto this planet the Doctor's been raving about," said Pete, clapping his gloved hands together, "Think you can spare him for long enough love?"

"Sure," said Rose looking between the alien in her arms and the man in the doorway, "After all, frozen seas are much more interesting than this one!"

With a giggle and a yell she bolted from the room, only allowing herself to frown as she reached the console room first. Laying a hand on the control panel she felt her heart sink as no vibration came to her.

XXXX

The Doctor wanted to scream, not only had he been forced out of clearly a favoured outfit of pinstripes into long, dark robes insisted on by his people but he also had a woman hanging off his arm who could not seem to be quiet for a second. If he heard one more time how spectacular his planet was he was going to do someone some damage. The only problem was that the someone currently prattling on as to how she had never seen green that vibrant before was meant to be his wife. When his father had told him he was married to Reinette he had figured it wasn't such a difficult concept to grasp. He remembered her as elegant, beautiful, charming, entertaining but that had seemed to fade when she had barrelled into his bedroom, proclaiming him her lost angel returned and covering him with kisses he found more irritating than fulfilling.

She had dragged him from the house soon after, insisting that his recovery could only be aided by fresh air and exercise in the freezing snow of Gallifrey's winter. He was intending to disagree. His recovery in his opinion centred around him sitting very quietly, alone, for many hours until he pieced back together his mismatched memory. Something was amiss, his father was too warm, his grandchild too sweet and his wife not even igniting a single spark of affection inside him.

"Don't you think my darling?"

The Doctor returned from his musings as he felt something tug on his arm. He looked up into his wife's eyes, shocked to find them free of mascara and wondering why.

"Sorry…dear…I was miles away. What were you saying?" he asked, feigning interest.

"I was saying its amazing how the trees remain in leaf even when the snows come," said Reinette, "This place is truly wonderful, the beauty of Versailles has nothing on the wonders of these gardens. Oh what bliss to be on this world and with you, my darling angel. I am so glad you are come back to us."

The Doctor managed a weak smile before returning his attentions to the scenery around him. He blinked as he saw something out of place on the snowy field below where they walked but the image remained. There in the snow was a girl, dancing happily as it cascaded down onto her. Opening her arms wide and admiring the snow flakes as they settled on her gloved hands. Her blonde hair fanned out around her like a halo as she span on one leg, laughing playfully. The Doctor thought he'd never seen anything more beautiful in his whole life. Her entire countenance portrayed innocence and purity, a wide eyed view on the universe and everything in it.

The Doctor let loose the arm holding his and walked slowly down the slope never taking his eyes off the dancing girl. When he was no more than five feet away she looked up, her gaze penetrating right into his soul. An expression of confusion and then vague recognition came to her face before she smiled warmly at him and raised her hand to wave. He waved back, wanting for some reason the ground beneath him to carry him downwards whilst all the time wanting to stay beside her.

"Angel!" came the call, "Angel?"

The Doctor turned to see Reinette struggling down the hill, holding her heavy Time Lady robes up above her ankles. He resisted the frown at how odd she looked in them.

"What are you doing down there?" she said, "And ignoring me too?"

"I came to see…" the Doctor trailed off as he looked back to where the girl had been to see nothing but virgin snow on the ground, "…girl. There was a girl here just a second ago, she was dancing."

"There wasn't a girl," said Reinette, "That head injury has hurt you more than I thought, we should go back."

"But I saw her. She was right there, she looked right at me," said the Doctor, squinting as the sunlight bounced off the snow, "She was beautiful."

His hand was roughly grabbed and he was dragged back up the hill, all the time looking over his shoulder for the mystery girl with the sunlight smile.

XXXX

Rose thought she had been mad to find anything out of place in her life with the Doctor. Here they all were beneath hundred foot frozen waves, skating and laughing as the snow came down around them in the still night. Her father was busying himself with a snowman whilst the Doctor was examining some aquatic life that froze with the sea, completely shutting down their bodies until the thaw when they would come back to life. She wandered along the snowy beach, the fresh snow crunching beneath her boots. She looked back over her shoulder, taking in the pretty picture of the beach; her father alive and well, playful as she'd hoped for and the Doctor, brighter than she ever remembered him and openly in love with her.

The snow began to fall a little heavier and she examined the delicate flakes in the split second before they melted against her gloved hands. She span around, catching as much snow as possible. Casting her eyes to the heavens she giggled at the hand fate had dealt her, giving her the adventure and the beauties of the universe. She stopped as a figure appeared at her side and she turned fully to face him. He was shockingly handsome, dressed in clothes she didn't recognise, his hair too contemporary for the fashions he wore. She frowned, recognition touching her senses before she remembered the photograph in her pocket. Something stirred in her chest as he smiled at her and she smiled back just as warmly. She raised a hand to wave at him, seeing him wave back. She went to speak to him but a voice behind her caught her attention.

"Rose come and look at this!"

"What?" she said turning to see the Doctor beckoning her over to the water front, "Sorry I've got to…"

She stopped explaining to the man beside her that she had to go as he faded from view. She peered around her, looking for the figure and feeling a lump rise in her throat that he was no longer there. She took the wallet from her pocket and looked at his photograph once again. Something in his eyes seemed so familiar, their deep brown so warming and filled with an emotion she had never seen before. The Doctor's call came to her again and she quickly returned the picture before jogging back to his side.

"You okay?" said the Doctor taking her hand, "You look a little off."

"I'm fine," said Rose smiling up at him, "Just over done it a bit today."

"We can go back to the TARDIS," said the Doctor, "Curl up in front of the fire with a movie or something."

Rose frowned, "Isn't that a little domestic for you?"

"Course not, what we always do."

"Course," said Rose, smiling at his back as he went over to Pete, before muttering to herself, "You hate watching films."

XXXX

The Doctor thanked whatever gods could hear him that he had been able to pass off illness as an excuse for avoiding his marital duties. After his return to his father's house he had managed to escape to the library for a while, enjoying the silence and the chance it gave him to think on the events that had led him home. He should be happy, his family lived, he had a beautiful wife, the TARDIS was ready to fly in an instant but something was dreadfully amiss. He remembered sadness but didn't know why. He remembered love, tentative even now, not as open as the practiced courtesan currently by his side. Reinette had been on his heels the second he announced he was retiring to bed and he had seen the well practised ritual of seduction she had used to win favour with Louis in France but even Madame Du Pompadour's talents did not spark any passion in him. He had protested he was still too ill and she had grudgingly fallen to sleep beside him, a gulf of mattress between them.

When the Doctor had been sure she was sleeping he had climbed out of bed and changed into his brown pinstripe suit and long fawn jacket. He ran a hand over the delicate rose petals by the mirror before silently leaving the bedroom and returning to the sanctuary of the library, something about books and an open fire reminding him of happier times. Closing the heavy door behind him he slid the bolt home, praying that none of his family would wake and disturb him. He lit the fire and slumped into the high back chair, casting his mind over his disjointed memories in the hope of finding the root of his discomfort.


	12. A Gentle Hand

Rose looked down at the figure next to her in her large double bed, something about his head on her pillow disturbing her rather than filling her with the glee she would always imagine. She couldn't deny he was handsome, she definitely couldn't deny she was attracted to him. When they had returned from Woman Wept Pete had beaten a hasty retreat to bed, leaving Rose and the Doctor alone in the large living area. Rose had wanted to sit in the library but the Doctor had protested that he preferred the other room. She had followed him obediently and not protested as he'd thrown an arm around her when they settled on the sofa. The movie he put on had soon been forgotten, replaced by the sensation of his lips on hers and the feel of his hands on her body. She had begun to enjoy it, touching him back and revelling in the caresses she'd craved for months. It was only when he murmured in her ear that he wanted to continue in her bedroom that the image of the man in the photo came to her once again.

She froze and the Doctor had pulled away, fearing he'd over stepped the mark. Unable to tell him why she had suddenly pulled away from his advances when she had no idea why herself and unable to bear the hurt in his eyes, she had lied, blaming her accident and fatigue. Out of the need to comfort him she had invited him to stay with her but was unable to enjoy the sanctuary of his arms. Now she sat, watching him sleep, torn between his beauty and the need to understand why she couldn't let herself love him properly. She slowly got up and dressed in the clothes she had woken in, checking her pockets for her wallet and the funny device she had still not found a use for. Despite her confusion at its operation she felt it like a lifeline, anchoring her to reality when everything else was off kilter.

Silently she slipped from the bedroom and wandered the drafty corridors to the library. As soon as she crossed the threshold she felt a peace come to her, an understanding that this room held many happy memories even if she couldn't find them. She settled herself on the large leather sofa and waited. She didn't know what she was expecting but something told her that this room would have the answers. It wasn't long before she took the photograph from her wallet once again, peering at the man with the wild brown hair and deep dark eyes. She studied the picture a little closer, realising that the back ground behind him was a familiar view of the TARDIS control room and in his hand, partially cut off at the base was the device she now had in her pocket. She took it out and flicked the switch, hearing the familiar buzz and two words coming to her mind; sonic screwdriver. She giggled at the term but gave the little device a fond squeeze as she flicked it off once again.

Movement out of the corner of her eye caught her attention and she hastily returned the photo to her pocket for fear of discovery by the Doctor. She turned to the door but no one was there. She got to her feet, wandering over to the fire place and running her fingers over the mantle. She gazed up into the large ornate mirror, reaching up with her sleeve to wipe a smudge from the glass. She nearly screamed when the smudge failed to wipe away and instead moved, floating almost to the mirror's edge before breaking free like a thin puff of smoke. Rose watched it as it doubled back to her, circling her before heading towards the door. Without thinking Rose followed it, keeping her pace slightly slower and plenty of distance between herself and the smoke.

The smoke gradually faded until all she could see was a tiny little intermittent red light. Her mind was bombarded with memories at the sight, late nights and ghost stories, candle light, chocolate liquor, the Doctor trembling in her arms. Her heart froze at the last thought, the Doctor trembling but his face was not that of the man asleep in her bed but the man in the picture.

"Regeneration," she muttered to herself, not understanding the word but knowing it bore some significance.

She followed the light as it moved further and further into the heart of the ship. Passing rooms or pausing at them to allow Rose to look inside. One room was in disarray, a old fashioned military uniform hung up on the outside of the wardrobe. Another room was again messy but not as lived in, a computer console left abandoned on the bed. Images came to Rose's mind; a tall, handsome man with a flirty smile and a warm heart, someone loved and lost and Mickey's face came to her mind, slightly older than when she left Earth and his face sorrowful but determined. She continued to follow the light before it paused outside another room. Rose carefully opened the door to see the unused bedroom. The image before her shimmered slightly and she saw it anew, soft candle light and silk bed clothes, a perfect haven. She wanted to throw herself onto the bed but kept to her feet, instead walking round to the side of the bed she didn't occupy when sharing and pulling something familiar from beneath the pillow. She had to laugh at what part of her mind would recollect black and white checked pyjamas but the feel of the material made her think of nights held in a secure embrace, words she couldn't understand being whispered in her ear. She checked the room for occupants before holding the pyjama shirt to her face, inhaling the scent that lingered there. She shuddered with delight at the sensations it gave her.

"Doctor," she said to thin air, "My Doctor."

The red light buzzed in front of her face and she looked down to see an old dust sheet in her hands rather than the black and white cotton top. She frowned before discarding the sheet and leaving the room. She continued on further, deeper into the TARDIS then she ever remembered going before. The light did not pause again until it reached a great, ornate door. Rose reached up to trace the handles shaped like some mythical beast, concerned to find them chained shut rather than easy to open. Without thinking she pulled the sonic screwdriver from her pocket and set it, holding the blue light to the padlock and hearing it click open. She pulled the chains free and set them as silently as possible onto the floor. She pushed open the door and stepped over the threshold. Nothing but darkness greeted her.

"Lights," she said, looking for a switch before she heard the ignition of a dozen flames and the room flickered into view. Torches burned away in their holders at her command, illuminating the cathedral like room.

"Cloister Room," said Rose walking over to the massive central altar, "The Eye of Harmony…Library!"

Rose barely even noticed that the light had disappeared as she raced up the stairs and into the hidden staircase beyond. She hurried up the stone steps, catching up a lit torch as she ran. She pushed back the cloth and went around lighting the torches until the shadows were chased to the corners, revealing the dusty old room. Rose looked around trying to find the final piece of the jigsaw that was her memory, something had happened in this library, something to do with the man with the wild hair. She paced the floor, stopping only when she reached a thread bare rug. She threw it back and smiled as she saw the pentacle star etched onto the floor.

She got to her feet as she heard heavy footfalls on the stairs and hastily grabbed a torch from its holder. The Doctor walked in, leaning on the doorframe in just his jeans and jumper, the leather jacket no where in sight. The leather jacket he never went anywhere without.

"Taking the tour?" he asked, his familiar grin now only filling Rose with dread.

"Just remembering," said Rose, holding the torch out a little further.

"Remembering what?"

"Jack, Mickey, the Doctor."

"The Doctor? You might be still a little concussed, you should sit down."

"I'm not going to rest until I find out what's happening," said Rose, "And you're going to tell me. So let's start from the top, who the hell are you and what have you done with the Doctor?"

XXXX

The Doctor found himself dragging a finger languidly over the books lining the walls, looking for anything of interest. They were mainly history tomes, their spines inlaid with golden circular script, and proving little interest to him. He carried on his path until he reached a book with a different script, he recognised the English letters immediately. He pulled the book from the shelf and went over to the rug by the fire, sitting cross legged on the floor and placing the book on his knees. He ran a hand over the cover, something telling him that answers dwelt beneath its red leather binding. He traced the black lettering, A Comprehensive History of British Lay Lines. Any other time he would have been more interested in why such a book existed in his father's library but instead his interest was drawn to the information within. He opened the book to the first page, scanning the contents and flipping to the page that stood out the most. He flipped the pages and turned to book long ways to look at the double page spread of the map.

His eyes immediately fell on London, something of importance drawing his eye there first before a strong line crossing the country became of greater value. He followed the line into Wales until his finger settled over the city of Cardiff. Several names sprang at him at once, Dickens, Sneed, Gwyneth, Margaret, Jack. He could only put a face to the first, the others eliciting differing memories and emotions around their names. His mind kept returning to the last, something akin to love entering his soul but a brotherly affection, no more. From Cardiff his finger followed another path, passing various large western towns before settling at a point between two, knowing something would be in place. He took a pencil from his pocket and scribbled the first word that came to his head. Proctor.

He continued to write, words associating in his head without any explanation. Pain, ghosts, children, Grace, Ivy, Rose, mirror. The final two words brought a deeper feeling to him than the others. Rose, mirror. Rose, mirror. He couldn't fathom the connection between the two but knew there was some great importance there. He reached into his pocket and pulled out one of the rosebuds he'd snapped off its stem earlier that day. Immediately the image of the girl in the snow came to him. He got to his feet, discarding the book and staring into the mirror above the fireplace. It misted for a second but when it cleared the scene behind him had changed. Gone was the ornate Gallifreyan furniture, in its place was a comfy old leather couch, strewn with scatter cushions and various modern acquisitions of an Earthling design. It was the figure on the sofa though that caught his attention. The girl in the snow was now dressed in just a man's button down shirt, her long legs curled up beside her on the sofa as she toyed with her blonde hair, knotting it around her fingers in a way that made him want to take over.

The flower in his hand warmed slightly and he looked down at it, "Rose," he said smiling at the flower, "Rose Tyler, my Rose Tyler."

"Who are you talking to?"

The Doctor looked up to see the room as it once was, Reinette's figure to the right of his vision in the mirror. He turned to her, question written on his face as disjointed memories returned to him in glorious technicolor.

"I never brought you to Gallifrey with me," he said not moving far from the fire place, "Because Gallifrey didn't exist and I never got back to you before you died. I went back to Rose."

"Whose Rose?" said Reinette sweetly, giving him her most disarming smile.

"She's my life," said the Doctor simply, "She's the reason I survive but she's not by my side and that's not how it should be."

"Angel you're ill…"

"Will you stop calling me that!" cried the Doctor, "I'm not your angel! I'm about as far from an angel as I can get. Now you tell me where Rose is, where is she?"

"I don't know, I don't know anyone called Rose," said Reinette walking over to him and laying her hands on his chest, "Everyone who means anything to you is under this very roof, everyone you've ever loved. Your father, Susan, me."

"I don't love you," said the Doctor, "I never loved you. I wanted you, being a Time Lord made me no weaker than any man in your presence but I never loved you. I loved her…I love her, Rose Marion Tyler barely twenty-one and born on a South London Estate in the twentieth century. Rose Tyler who swung across the pit of a Nestene Consciousness the third time we met to save my life. Rose Tyler who taught a Dalek humility. Rose Tyler who marched to her death in the name of love. Rose Tyler who faced an invasion alone while I lay sleeping. Rose Tyler who has been unflinchingly by my side even when I have got things so wrong and broken her so many times. That's the woman I love, not some courtesan in some strange hallucination of my home world! Now then Madame Du Pompadour, how about telling me who you really are?"

XXXX

"I haven't done anything with the Doctor, I am the Doctor, one and only that's me!"

"You're lying to me," said Rose trying to hold her torch steady as he took another step towards her, "Stay where you are."

"Or what?"

"Or…or I'll hurt you, burn you," said Rose, her conviction wavering.

"Could you do that really? To me? Your Doctor?"

"You're not my Doctor," said Rose, "You're the old Doctor…no you're not even him. He never admitted his feelings, never cuddled watching movies unless I begged him or if I was sick."

"I'm just giving you what you want Rose, you've loved me for so long, I could see it from the day you stepped aboard," said the Doctor his countenance far more menacing than anything Rose had ever witnessed, "You wanted me. You prayed to get me back and now that wish has been granted you don't like it."

Rose straightened slightly at his words, "So you admit you changed, that there is another Doctor? Well I want him back. I don't want you, I was in love with the memory of you nothing more because you're still in him. This you is wrong, everything about you is wrong."

"What can you do Rose?" he said backing her into the corner by the old ornate sofa, "What can a mere human do to change things again?"

"I can remember what he taught me," said Rose, calmly lowering the torch to the nearest stack of dry old books. They caught light immediately, thick black smoke billowing up and blocking the Doctor from her view for a second. Rose didn't pause to think, closing her eyes tightly before feeling a strong tingling sensation throughout her body. She spread her arms admiring the golden feathers that came up in place of normal human skin. Flapping her new found wings she rose up over the flames and soared down the curling stair case, when she reached the bottom her grasp on her transformation had already weakened and she hit the ground running, glad to find her feet still properly attached and her body back to normal. She let her heart guide her feet, running to the control room.

XXXX

The Doctor was bored of talking, bored of hearing Reinette's insistence that he was ill and nothing more. He paced around the room, trying to find a way out of the madness that he was surrounded by. He remembered it all, the apparitions on the TARDIS, passing through the mirror into this world, fighting with Rose and being separated from her. He knew whatever was before him wasn't real, merely a twisted representation of his subconscious mind. He heard the clang of metal on metal and looked up. Reinette's figure was fading but it was the mirror that caught his attention. He could see Rose, standing in the TARDIS control room with a mallet in her hand, smashing the panel into pieces. He ran to the mirror and banged on it, realising that where he was came near to the TARDIS main doors.

"Rose! Rose!" he called, bashing harder on the mirror, "Rose break the doors, smash the doors."

He saw the girl stop as she heard his voice, "Doctor?"

"Rose I'm trapped but we can get out, smash the doors huney give it everything you've got!"

Rose didn't question him, running up to the doors and coming close enough to the mirror that he could almost touch her. She swung the mallet, landing several large blows and cracking the mirror, the sound of wood splintering from beyond.

"Come on darling," he cried, backing away from the flying glass, "You're getting through."

Through the shards of glass he could see her toss the mallet aside before readying herself. She raised her leg swiftly and planted a strong kick against the door. The mirror and wall shattered inwards, the illusion fading as she broke through and showing the stone corridor he stood in, the wall before him rubble and dust and Rose standing in its midst. The Doctor pulled the last of the debris free and helped her step over the stones. She threw her arms around his neck and held on tight, uttering nonsensical sounds of relief as she clung to him. The Doctor hugged her back, relieved to be free from the imaginary Gallifrey.

"I found you," she muttered, "I couldn't remember you and then when I did I couldn't find you."

"Its okay," he said into her hair, "I'm here now, we got there Rose, we…"

"Sshh!" hissed Rose, "Can you here that?"

The Doctor strained his ears in the dark, stone corridor. The unmistakeable roar of fast flowing water met his sense and he immediately grabbed Rose's hand, pulling her down the corridor. It wasn't long until the torrent was on their heels but with no where to turn off they had to keep running, the crash of the waves deafening them as they grew closer. The Doctor secured his arms around Rose's waist just as the water hit, knocking the breath out of them both and pulling them under. Through pure stubbornness alone he kept hold of her, pulling them both to the surface of the rushing flow. Rose spluttered desperately as they surfaced, clinging onto his coat for dear life as the current swept them up against the stone walls or pulled them under, forcing them to fight for the surface once more.

A gate loomed ahead, the bars wide enough to let the water through but not their forms, they would be crushed against it by the pressure of the water. The Doctor frantically glanced around them, noticing with alarm that there was nothing to grip onto to pull them free from the water before the impact.

"Put your hand on my head!" cried Rose above the cacophony of the water.

"What?"

"That Time Lord thing, I need you to give me some of your strength."

"That's not how it works," he said, "I can't."

"Just do it, it'll make me believe you can," cried Rose, struggling from his grip and only holding on to him one handed. He placed his fingers to her temple and watched her shut her eyes. He watched in amazement as the blue transformation light surrounded her, her control over the world around her increasing as she transformed. In a second he was blinded by light before he heard a loud shriek and felt strong talons close around his arms, pulling him from the water. He dared not look up as he was pulled clear and flown over to the bank and set back onto his feet. He dropped to his knees, choking up the water he had swallowed but he managed to look up long enough to see the elegant golden eagle before the light shimmered once more and Rose collapsed into a heap on the floor, coughing and spluttering.

The water's flow began to slow but neither paid it any mind, gathering themselves before clinging onto each other for dear life.

"Thank God," said Rose, "I was so frightened. Are you alright?"

"Thanks to you, that was a pretty nifty trick," said the Doctor, stroking her soaked hair.

"Did it before in the TARDIS? Had to get over the flames and I wished and I turned into that bird thing," said Rose, "Didn't know I could do that."

"Course you could, you're very clever. Also means you have more control over this environment than I thought." said the Doctor, cupping her cheek and turning her face to his.

Rose flinched back as his palm met her cheek, the memory of his mother's house still fresh in her memory. She sat back from him and studied her shoes. She didn't look up as she heard him sigh in desperation.

"I'm so sorry Rose," said the Doctor, "What I did to you back then…its unforgivable…I understand if you…"

"I'm not leaving you," said Rose managing to reach out and take his hand, "But you hurt me, I don't mean the slap, God knows I deserved that."

"No one ever deserves that…"

"Let me finish," said Rose, taking his face in her hand and holding his gaze, "The number of times I've hit you and you take it. I shouldn't have said what I did, you were grieving and I was being selfish. I wasn't the slap that hurt it was the fact that you pushed me away, the same way it hurt you when I pushed you away the other day. Then when I ran away I realised how stupid the fight was but I couldn't get back to you. After everything that's happened though I know how much I love you and how one stupid moment is never going to change that."

Rose leant up and pressed a kiss to his lips, glad to feel him respond instantly, his arms coming around her. She reached back and removed his hand from her waist and raised his hand to her cheek. Pulling back from his kiss, she nuzzled into his palm before resting her cheek against it, her eyes showing him he was forgiven. He leaned forward and kissed her again, all the confusion of the passed hours flowing from him as he felt the one true thing in this world.

"Tell me what happened," he murmured as they parted, sitting back against the wall and bringing her across his lap. She did, telling him the tale of the forest and then waking on the TARDIS. He told her his story, of Reinette and his family alive and well but nothing being what he wanted. Rose told him of the light leading her to the places to jog her memory and they both came to the same conclusion.

"I think it was Grace, Doctor," said Rose leaning her head on his shoulder, "The red light and you dreamed of her before, perhaps she is the only entity we can trust, all the others are wrong."

"We can't trust anyone but each other at the moment Rose," said the Doctor, "Just trust me to take care of you and I'll trust you to do the same. This place will get worse before it gets better I'm sure and we need to keep together, no more fighting."

"No more fighting," said Rose, getting to her feet "Well then, we'd best find a way out of here and onwards. I want to go home, I desperately need a change of clothes."

The Doctor pushed up to his feet, immediately taking her hand, their fingers locking. He smiled down at their entwined hands before raising his head to press a kiss to her cheek. The room around them was free of both doors and windows, the only thing that proved an entry or an exit being the gate they had almost crashed into. The Doctor wandered over, seeing the small key hole etched into the wall beside the gate.

"If only I had my…"

"This?" said Rose, pulling the sonic screwdriver from her pocket and handing it to him.

"Where'd you get that?" said the Doctor as he took it from her.

"Kept hold of it after you created it when we were falling through that tunnel. It was one of the things that reminded me of you when I was inside the other TARDIS. The Doctor didn't have one and its so much a part of you that it reminded me who you were even when they pretended you weren't real. I used it to open up the Cloister Room door."

"You certainly did a lot more than I did, I just sat around waiting for inspiration," said the Doctor, using the sonic screwdriver to work away at the lock, "I was so far removed from myself it was frightening, I've never felt that detached from the universe before."

"I know what you mean," said Rose, fiddling with the hem of her jumper, "I kept feeling…its hard to explain…you know when you get off a rollercoaster or the TARDIS has been really bumpy and it feels like the ground is still moving when you're standing still, it felt like that. Everything was just odd and…a lot of the time I wanted to cry, especially when I realised the Doctor wasn't who I thought he was, he…I don't want to remember him that way, he terrified me!"

The Doctor abandoned the lock and turned to her, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her close against him, feeling the chill in her from her wet clothes, "Sweetheart you have to remember that this isn't real, everything we see and experience is altered to make it frightening. You said your vision of the old me was menacing, cold. I was back then and I know you saw it; that time with the Dalek in Utah, I frightened you. You carry that memory with you, despite our happier ones and this thing is using that against you, highlighting the bad memories because that's what will hurt you. The same way it twisted my feelings for Reinette in an attempt to get me to forget you."

"But you didn't did you?" said Rose, "You left her, all of them for me."

"And I would again," said the Doctor into her hair, "Even if they were real. This is all I want now, you and me."

Rose smiled against his chest, laying her cheek over one of his strong heartbeats, "Me too," she said, "Now come on, we haven't got time to be all soppy. Get that gate open and let's get this sorted."

The Doctor pulled back and returned to the task in hand. The lock finally sprang free but instead of the gate lifting a panel in the floor opened to reveal a pulley system, the rope old and worn but usable. The Doctor frowned but picked up the rope, bracing his feet on the floor and pulling. It offered some resistance at first but then began to give, lifting up the gate before them. Rose moved behind him and took hold of the rope, helping him pull until the gate was fully lifted. The Doctor looked around but found nothing to anchor it too.

A small path either side of the water had risen alongside the gate, leaving enough space for one person to walk across into the cavern beyond.

"You'd better go through and have a look," said the Doctor, keeping the rope secured, "If I let this go that thing will fall down, go and see if its worth the effort."

Rose did as she was told, slipping beyond the gate and returning a few minutes later with a smile on her face, "Looks promising," she said, "The water goes on for a way and there's a boat, better than sitting in there for the next few hours waiting for something to happen. Can you get across?"

"Should be able to. Get yourself back in case the rope goes loose and that gate falls, I have a nasty feeling that any limbs lost here might remain lost back in the real world," said the Doctor, keeping his grip tight on the rope.

Rose stepped back into the room behind the gate but made sure she could still see the Time Lord as he gradually pulled himself towards the gate, keeping the rope as taut as possible. The gate juddered and protested dangerously, threatening to drop at any second. Rose's fingers curled into a fist in her agitation and she willed the Doctor to hurry as she clocked the large spikes that made the base of the gate.

"Will you settle down?" said the Doctor from the other side, the strain of holding up the heavy metal gate apparent in his voice, "I'm getting stress hormones aplenty from you at the moment."

"Sorry," said Rose, "Just don't want you getting mushed. Can you regenerate if your not actually in your body?"

"Don't know, never tried," said the Doctor as he reached as close to the gate as he could get without loosing the rope, "And I don't want to put it to the test now. Right, stand back, I don't want to send you flying when I come through there."

Rose did as she was told and closed her eyes tight. She heard the slap of the Doctor's converse on the stonework and the creak of the gate as it juddered and then slammed back to the ground. She heard the grunt of someone hitting the floor hard and opened her eyes. The Doctor pushed himself up to his feet, looking down in concern at his long fawn jacket that was now missing a substantial amount of its base. Rose found the torn off material floating conspicuously on the shallow water, clearly snagged by the gate spikes. Rose went to his side, checking him for any further injuries.

"You're lucky that wasn't your leg," she said, satisfied he was in one piece.

"Stupid gate," said the Doctor wandering over and giving said gate a firm kick before frowning as his foot came off worse, "I liked this coat."

Rose shook her head as he shrugged out of the long coat and tossed it to one side, "You should keep it," said Rose, "At least its mostly still in one piece."

"And look as if I've been living in a doorway for the passed six months, no fear," said the Doctor, "I have a certain level of style to maintain you know?"

Rose masked a laugh with her hand, "Style, you? Yeah right. I was loving the eighties leather before and now the preppy student look, you've got style right down."

The Doctor raised an eyebrow, a look that was none too innocent passing over his face, "Are you making fun of my look Miss Tyler? The same Miss Tyler who sported a Union Jack T-Shirt in the middle of wartime Britain? Well, I suppose I must take advice from such a fashion guru," he said, coming as close to her as he could without touching, "I'll just have to let you get me out of these dreadful clothes when we get home."

Rose couldn't suppress the gasp that echoed from her as his voice shot pleasure to all the right places, "Now I know I'm with the right person," she murmured, "No one else in the universe can do that to me."

"It's a talent," said the Doctor, pressing the lightest kiss to her lips before standing back upright, looking to all the world as if the last moments had never happened, "Right, boat. Let's move."

Rose watched his back as he walked off, frowning at his gear change but then letting herself laugh, knowing she would definitely not have him any other way.


	13. Science Fiction, Double Feature

Rose felt her eyes drifting as she lay back against the bow of the small boat they had found but forced herself to stay awake, finding herself concentrating on the Doctor as he stirred them through the water, perched on the other end of the boat. She heard him singing to himself and giggled at the subject matter.

"What's the matter?" he said, looking up at her.

"You, singing Rocky Horror while we're floating on a river to good knows where in a world were anything can happen," giggled Rose, "You'd better be careful or you'll end up dressed head to foot in fishnets. Can just imagine you in six inch stilettos!"

"Well I've definitely got the legs for it," said the Doctor, stretching out his long legs before him and examining his shoes as if he was admiring said stilettos, "Anyway, whose to say I've never been head to foot in fishnets before?"

"That's not an image I really want in my head," said Rose, "Although, I could imagine you dressed up like Rocky, gold underwear, very fetching."

"Imagining is all you'll be doing," said the Doctor, "Underwear that tight just isn't natural."

"Underwear at all seems unnatural to you," said Rose trailing her hand in the water and then thinking better of it as her fingers came out covered in black. She quickly wiped them off on her top before looking back up at the Doctor.

"Any idea how much further?" she asked.

"About two feet," said the Doctor, "Sit up."

Rose did as commanded and was pleased she had done so when the boat settled softly against a grimy grate that would have left her hair less than savoury if she had leant against it. The corridor hadn't much changed since they'd started their journey, large and cavernous with nothing but a thin path either side of the water. Now however a small jetty had appeared to their left, leading into a tight dark passage.

The Doctor climbed out of the boat and turned to offer Rose his hand. She took it and pulled herself over the edge and onto dry land, looking down in alarm as the boat faded from view the second she left it.

"I'll never get used to this place," she said, "Guess we're swimming back."

"We'll see," said the Doctor, "Right, nice tight dark passageway, wanna risk it?"

"No other choice," said Rose, "Its that or the water and I don't fancy getting soaked again. I'm barely dried out as it is. You can go first though."

"Nice to know you care about me so much," said the Doctor, squeezing himself into the small gap, having to move sideways to get through, "Not much space."

"I don't think I'll get through there," said Rose.

"You're plenty skinny enough," said the Doctor, disappearing from view as he ventured further into the blackness, "And it gets a bit looser the more you move in."

"Okay," said Rose, following his lead and wishing she'd been one of the girls at school who had never got out of their training bra, "At least you don't have boobs and hips, this was clearly not designed for a woman."

"Trust me if I had them you wouldn't be with me and we can't have that," came the Doctor's voice, "And they look so much better on you. Ah here we go freedom! Its only a few feet wide Rose."

Rose struggled through the small gap, the Doctor's figure once again apparent the other side, "I'm going on SlimFast when we get home," she said, wriggling to get through the small gap, "No more chips and that's final."

"Who'd I share mine with if you gave up chips, chips are our thing," said the Doctor, examining the new corridor they had entered, "Besides I don't want you to lose weight, I like something to grab onto."

"Doctor!"

"What? I mean it, you're lovely the way you are. I hate all those size zero creatures in your magazines. I might not speak for all men but personally I do not want to be making love to a skeleton, borders far to close to necrophilia for my liking. I like your curves, especially where your waist meets your hip, you have absolutely no idea what…"

"Doctor!"

"Hmm?" said the Doctor turning and seeing Rose still struggling to free herself from the passageway.

"Sweet as your ramblings are I wouldn't mind a little help freeing those favourite curves of yours before I'm rendered unable to ever have children," said Rose, reaching her one free arm out to grab him and pull him nearer. The Doctor helped her release herself from the close space with little discomfort on her part. As soon as she was free he returned silently to his studies of the new corridor. Rose frowned at the change of him, his manner being so talkative a moment before.

"You alright? Doctor?"

"Do you want children?"

"Huh?"

"Children, do you want them?"

Rose rolled her eyes and came to his side, taking his hand before leaning back against the nearby wall and fixing his gaze, "That was just a figure of speech Doctor," she said softly, "We're hardly the most likely couple to have children now are we? I'm not going to get all broody on you and demand you impregnate me with you alien babies. Don't get all quiet about it."

"Sorry, its just…"

"You need to give up worrying that I'm going to get all domestic on you," said Rose, "I'm in love with you and that includes the life you lead. You've been a Dad, you've been a Grandad, to all intents you've earned your stripes in the family department. Now you get to have a little fun and that means you and me, racing around the universe without a care in the world and being able to do whatever we please in whatever room on the TARDIS we choose."

"You know we still haven't properly tried the Control Room," said the Doctor.

"Precisely," said Rose, "and if we had some noisy little half Time Lord baby running round we'd never get the chance so stop worrying over silly things like that and let's get back to said Control Room. Now if you haven't been too busy to notice, doesn't this corridor seem familiar to you."

The Doctor looked around the corridor, much smaller than the one they're come from and going straight forward with low lighting along the walls, "Corridor…nothing particular about it."

"Imagine that you're looking at it through a computer screen."

The Doctor squinted and then his eyes brightened as realisation hit him, "The Mantodean strong hold you got zapped into that time. It does look a bit like that doesn't it. Must be one of us manifesting it, you been thinking about this recently at all."

"Not really," said Rose, "but I suppose its always there in my mind, was pretty scary, not being in control of my own body, especially when the person in charge of it was you."

"Oi! I did a rather fine job I think you'll find!" said the Doctor taking a few tentative steps along the corridor, "We'd better keep our eyes open, from what I remember from the game pits and such open up without warning and I don't reckon we'll get such a happy landing this time."

"I don't get any of this," said Rose as they made their way along the pathway, her hand held securely in the Doctor's, "Why doesn't this whatever it is just manifest some nasty big baddy to finish us off and be done with it? Why all this sculking about, making us fight, showing us alternate realities to make us forget each other? Why doesn't it just kill us?"

"I don't think it can," said the Doctor, "It relies on us to feed it images. I've currently shut off as many bad memories as I can so hopefully we'll avoid some of the more unsavoury nasties of the galaxy for a while. I'm afraid I can't teach you to do the same. Just try to think nice thoughts."

Rose smiled at his back as several nice thoughts she couldn't possibly voice outside their bedroom came to mind. Her thoughts were cut off however as she heard the sound of insect like feet not too far ahead. She walked into the Doctor's back as he stopped suddenly, straining his ears for the sound once again. His hands sought Rose's out, pulling her close against his back and moving backwards down the corridor. The sound echoed behind them as well and Rose felt herself turned quickly, the Doctor desperately trying to keep her from the oncoming threat. The sounds grew louder and louder but nothing came into view in the dim corridor. The Doctor began once again to walk them forward, the sonic screwdriver in his grip as if it would prove a useful weapon.

"When I tell you to drop you hit the floor like your life depended on it?" he whispered over his shoulder to Rose, "Drop and stay there you understand and don't move a muscle."

"Okay," said Rose, nodding her affirmative even though he couldn't see her. She kept close to the Doctor's back, her hands in a vice like grip around the material of his jacket. The sounds of giant mandibles opening and closing still echoed around them, some even accompanied by the swish of air over their heads as the breeze stirred up their hair. Rose could feel the Doctor's body coil beneath her hands, his muscles tensing as they always did when he was preparing to face an enemy.

A flash of putrid green came into view before she heard the Doctor shout the command to drop and she obeyed. She stayed as still as possible as she heard the sharp snick of claws high above her. She dared not open her eyes until she felt something grip the back of her T-Shirt and drag her bodily across the floor. She fell unceremoniously into a pinstripe clad chest and a plimsolled foot missed her leg by millimetres as the Doctor kicked out. She was pulled flush against him as she heard the heavy thud of a door closing and then nothing but his heavy breathing, his arms holding her close to his chest and allowing her to feel his fast paced heart rates.

Finding the courage to open her eyes she turned to the scene behind her. The way they had just come was blocked in the most part by a heavy wooden door that had appeared out of nowhere. It was what lingered at the base though that forced Rose to choke back the rising bile in her throat. She recognised the praying mantis form of the Mantodean but it was broken as a twig, crushed beneath the door. A sticky blue substance flowed from where it had been hit and it twitched in the final throes of life before falling still. Wrenching her eyes from the scene they fell upon the Doctor's foot, still resting lightly against the barely perceptible button that had released the door.

She felt his arms tighten slightly around her middle, "You alright?" he said against her hair.

"Yeah, bit close though," said Rose letting her head fall back against his chest, "Thought I was gonna end up in bits."

"That's why I told you to get on the floor, he wouldn't see you down there with all his attention on me. Decided I didn't have much of a chance to fight him off either so I imagined the door and the button and brought it down on him," said the Doctor, "Sorry if I was a bit rough with you."

"Better that than being mantis chow. You alright?"

"Perfect as usual," said the Doctor helping her to stand and brushing off his own clothes, "Although my clothes have seen better days."

They continued their path, nothing more jumping out on them from the dimly lit corners. Again boredom began to set in, the journey long and tedious. Rose began hopping from stone to stone, avoiding the cracks as she hummed an old children's nursery rhyme to herself. It wasn't long before the Doctor joined in two, the pair of them trying to over balance each other as they continued side by side. Rose wobbled precariously as the shove she had tried to inflict on the Doctor back fired on her and caused her to rely on the wall to hold her up. She felt the wall give beneath her hand and gave out a shriek of alarm as she toppled onto her side, only just managing to roll out of the way of the four foot spikes that had shot up from the ground. She heard the Doctor's cry of alarm and rushed to her feet, seeing him grasping his arm, blood seeping between his fingers through his sleeve.

"How very Indiana Jones," he managed to hiss through clenched teeth, pulling a handkerchief from his pocket and swiftly bandaging his arm.

"Are you alright?" asked Rose, the spikes blocking her path to him.

"Its just a scratch," he said, "I'll be alright, problem is how do we get you across this thing? By the way before you ask I think this is my manifestation, I remember encountering a trap similar to this a few hundred years ago. Ended up pretty beat up there to and this corridor reminded me of it."

"Well glad to know its not a product of Mickey's horror movie fixations," said Rose, "I really don't want to encountering Freddie Kruegar while I'm down here."

"Oh you won't, Freddie was tried and convicted on his home world years ago. He's locked up in the back of beyond with no way of reaching Earth."

Rose's mouth fell open in shock at the Doctor's serious tone as he examined the metal spikes. She wished she could get passed them and smack him as he broke into peals of laughter. She folded her arms across her chest and huffed.

"You're really not funny," she said, feeling her own smile quirk at her lips.

"You really need to stop being so gullible," said the Doctor sobering slightly, "I can't see a release mechanisms for these things and there's no way I can lift you over, they're too high."

"Well I'm not just going to stand here," said Rose, "We'll have to find some way to break them down."

"They're solid steel and at least four inches thick," said the Doctor, "It would take more juice than the sonic screwdriver has possibly got to get through even half of them. Don't suppose…"

"Suppose what?"

"You could do your bird thing again, fly over."

"I can try," said Rose, shutting her eyes the way she had seen the Doctor do before and wishing with everything she had. It only took her a moment to release nothing was happening, "I have a feeling it only works when I'm in trouble. Its like I can feel it wanting to change me whenever something threatens me."

"Well I really don't want to have to wait for something to come and decide to threaten you," said the Doctor, "And I have a feeling we're both limited to the forms we change into and wolf or no, I can't hop you over that thing, plus you seem a lot better at changing back. I don't want to get stuck again."

Rose sighed, reaching a hand over the high spikes to ruffle his hair, "We'll think of something, we'll…"

"What is it Rose?"

Rose was silent as she shut her eyes and turned to the corridor behind her. The Doctor watched on in alarm as the blue haze of a pre-manifestation materialised down the corridor before forming into the shape of a giant, fiery bull. It turned its attentions to Rose and snorted violently, scraping a foot against the floor and lowering its giant horns. Rose opened her eyes and gave a squeak of alarm at the sight, at once terrified and revelling in the fear it instilled in her.

"Rose this isn't good!" cried the Doctor, "You need to get out of there fast."

"I'm not scared enough yet!" said Rose over her shoulder, keeping her eyes on the bull waiting to charge, "But I will be, this thing always terrified me when I was a kid."

"And how by Rassilon do you come across a fiery bull in Peckham?!"

"I watched it on a cartoon when I was five," said Rose as the bull began to advance on her slowly, "I can't remember what it was called, something about Unicorns and wizards but the bull seriously screwed me up. Even have nightmares about it now."

"Jesus! Daleks, Cybermen, Gelth and you sleep like a baby. Cartoon bulls and you're terrified? Huney we need to work on your priorities, the first one being getting the hell out of there, that thing's gonna kill you!"

"Give me a minute!" hissed Rose as the thing began to charge towards her, the corridor rushing passed it faster than she'd anticipated. She shut her eyes tight, begging her body to transform into the winged creature she had been before. She heard the hammering of the hooves growing louder and louder, the Doctor cursing and crying out to her as the tiny sonic screwdriver protested in vain against the bars. Nothing was happening and each moment the shake of the ground beneath her feet got stronger. She could feel the heat from the fiery form of the bull begin to burn her as it grew closer and she could smell the acrid stench of sulphur and brimstone on its breath. As she felt the earth give a final tremor she opened her mouth to scream, only opening her eyes when a majestic shriek left her and she felt her body rising.

She looked down to see the bull crumpled against the spikes, impaled on the thick steel and the Doctor the other side frantically waving and cheering as she soared over to him. Rose couldn't help but admire the view, heading on a little further along the corridor with the Doctor running beneath her.

"Come into landing Miss Tyler," said the Doctor, watching the play of the dim light on the gold feathers of the eagle above him and finding the form fitting for the young woman he knew, free and majestic. He heard her give a shriek of affirmative from above before she managed a small circle, landing at his feet. Although bigger than a normal eagle would be she still had to look up at him. The Doctor lost himself for a moment in the golden eyes, the memory of how Rose looked before his regeneration coming to the forefront of his mind.

"I'm impressed," he said, tracing a finger over the soft, downy feathers on her head, "You do feathers so well but how about changing back again, you'll wear yourself out if you keep up the transformation."

A hard beak nipped at his finger before one feathery eyebrow was raised in defiance. Rose closed her eyes and the Doctor waited to see the light of her transformation surround her.

"Oh no," he muttered causing Rose to open her eyes and look up at him imploringly, "You can't do it can you?"

The pitiful shriek he got in response shot pain to the centre of his hearts.

"And unlike me, you can't speak to me can you?"

The Doctor watched the mournful shake of Rose's head, a tear appearing at the edge of one large, golden eye and running over the delicate feathers beside her beak. Even without words her look told him how frightened she was. He knelt down beside her and lay a hand on the fold of her wing, trying to give her as much comfort as possible.

"Its alright," he said, holding her eyes with his, "We'll think of something and you'll be able to get away from danger a lot quicker this way. Just stick by my side and I'll take care of you."

He could see her desperate wish to say something but knew there was no way he could communicate properly with her. He had the power to enter her mind but feared what damage he could do when it was so altered under her transformation.

"Rose, you'll be alright," he said, smoothing his hand over her wing as it drooped at her side, "We'll just have to go for yes and no answers from now on. One shriek for yes, two for no, can you do that?"

He was answered by one piercing shriek that set his ears ringing before he noticed the arch expression on the eagle before him.

"Very funny," he muttered, "Well, you can be of some use while you're all fluttery. Rose Tyler, the eyes in the skies."

The Doctor wasn't sure if eagles could naturally snort but they could now if the indignant response from Rose was anything to go by as she pushed up off the cold, stone floor and back into the air. The Doctor almost felt the temptation to cower as he noticed for the first time the magnificent talons she'd armed herself with but he knew even in her worst moods Rose would never intentionally harm him. He kept his eyes ahead, searching for openings that lead off the corridor or anything to end the monotony of the straight line they travelled. He occasionally glanced up to see Rose soaring a little further ahead, her eyes alert and more sensitive to any movement below. Once or twice she caught him looking and performed a loop, or some other impressive feet of flying that had him smiling at her but still wishing that she could change back into the form he knew.

He was pulled from his musings as she settled on a plateau above him, peering through a gap above one of the corridor walls and shrieking for his attention.

"What can you see?"

The look he got was a withering as anything Jackie Tyler had ever thrown at him and he quickly rephrased his question.

"Can you see something the other side?"

The shriek he got came as an affirmative.

"A room?"

Again he received the same response and he began to check the wall for any release mechanisms to let him into the adjoining room. Rose soon hopped down from her perch to his side and began to search with him, her head bobbing in such a way that the Doctor had to restrain his laughter at the images of pigeons in Trafalgar Square that came to mind. He was so distracted by his mirth that he didn't notice the girl beside him launch herself forward and press her beak against a loose stone on the wall. Instantly the panel began to drop to reveal the chamber behind.

The Doctor let out a low, appreciative whistle at what he saw. Room did not do what lay before him justice, he wasn't sure cavern did either. The room glittered with an unnatural midnight blue light, shimmering off some sort of mineral deposit in the walls and surfaces. The room must have stretched almost a hundred feet across with no visible floor save for the interlocking bridges of granite that lead from plateau to plateau, crumbled away in places through age. The Doctor looked down and swallowed hard, not daring to guess where the drop ended and feeling grateful at least for Rose's wings.

"This one of yours?" he asked the girl beside him, not taking his eyes off the view. The double shriek he received shocked him.

"Well its not one of mine," said the Doctor, "I've never seen anything like this before but that means that this is dangerous. We must be coming into the place where the entity is strongest, as always the place we want to go but the place we never want to be. Oh well, best get on and…"

The sharp peck at his leg caused the Doctor to quiet and the look he received told him that despite not being able to speak Rose didn't need the running commentary of their adventures.

"Sorry," he muttered before stepping onto the granite bridge at his feet. He heard the crack of stone beneath his feet and gladly felt two strong taloned feet grab his arms and haul him back to the safety of the corridor.

He felt himself shoved to one side by a strong wing before Rose stood between him and the entrance to the cavern, her back to him. She opened her wings and gave them a couple of test strokes before turning her head towards him and motioning him over to her. The Doctor raised an eyebrow in confusion before Rose shrieked and her eyes darted down to her feathered back in invitation.

The Doctor held his hands up in protest, "Rose you can't carry me, I'd be too heavy, you'll fall."

The shriek came again and the same motion, more insistent than before. Rose flapped her wings, causing dust and debris to fly up from the ground at her clawed feet. She stepped out onto the granite bridge and it collapsed completely beneath her, leaving a gulf of at least ten feet that would prove impossible to jump. She kept herself in the air and turned to him with a defiant stare before returning to the corridor and repeating her offer.

"You drive a hard bargain," said the Doctor, tentatively wandering over to her and settling against her majestic back. He swore he heard an impossible shriek of laughter as Rose pushed off the ground and free fell below where the bridge had stood, causing the Doctor to grip on a little more tightly around her neck. She soon opened her wings and flew them back up to level with the bridge, clearly enjoying hearing him squirm with each dip and twist of her flight. She followed the twirling pathway of the bridges, the Doctor finally relaxing and directing her as to the direction of travel they needed. They landed at several points where there seemed to be corridors leading off but were met with dead ends, immediately turning back to the cavernous room and circling once more. They had reached almost the top of the chamber when they finally found a corridor worthy of investigation.

The Doctor slipped back onto his feet, glad to feel terra firma once again as Rose played on his healthy respect for heights and managed several impressive loops before her landing. He felt like threatening her with a trip to a Bernard Matthews Processing plant for their next adventure but decided better of it as the click of her talons on the stone floor reminded him of their presence. The corridor was too low to allow Rose to glide so she walked beside him, her fascinating golden eyes shining like a beacon in the gloom. At a loss of what to do with his hand without Rose's to hold the Doctor laid it against her back, the contact enough to comfort them both in the growing blackness.

The darkness grew, Rose's eyes for once proving more useful than the Doctor's as her eyesight remained for a short while after his had failed. He kept his hand against her back, letting her lead him through the winding passage way. Before too long she stopped.

"Can't you see anymore?"

He was answered in the affirmative and his hand tightened slightly against the feathers on her back, "Then we have to go on blind. I've been trying to dream up a torch but its not working and if we go back now we'll never get anywhere."

Rose again answered in the affirmative, striding on bravely as the corridor began to chill and the walls grow tighter and damper. She felt the fingers at her back stretch and flex in agitation and wished desperately for her human form so as only to take his hand and still it but the transformation didn't come. She stumbled and shrieked in alarm as she tumbled down several stairs, her folly at least saving the Doctor the same fate. The light was a little brighter here, nothing strong enough for them to see properly by but enough to let them see that they were in a large, circular room marked with archways and gothic decoration, a large steep staircase stretching up the back in the centre.

"You wanna shout huney I'm home or shall I?" said the Doctor, his voice barely above a whisper.

"Is that you, Doctor?"

The Doctor turned to the figure beside him, seeing her still in eagle form, "You can speak?"

Rose shrieked a negative and looked passed him to one of the archways, both their eyes adjusting enough to allow them to see the bars blocking their entrance and the girl behind them. Pale and sallow with her jet black hair in soaked mats at the side of her head and her throat marred by a thick rope. She reached through the bars to them and both Rose and the Doctor instantly went to her side.

"You came?"

"Oh God," said the Doctor, feeling the cold fingers close around his own, "Grace what has happened to you?"


	14. His Legacy

Grace looked up at him through sorrowful eyes, her expression that of such loss and desperate hurt. The Doctor reached through the bars to her, brushing back her tangled hair and trying to bring her some comfort. A single tear escaped her eye and coursed down her cheek, leaving a trail of pale silver on her ghost white cheek.

"Oh God he won't let us go," she cried, "He found me Doctor, he brought me here."

"Clarence?" said the Doctor.

"I've been here so long," said Grace, her voice a desperate hushed tone, "And a woman comes to me when she gets free from him, from the thing. Its not Clarence, he's a prisoner too, its something evil but the woman comes and helps me get to you, to help you because she can't herself. Where is Rose?"

The Doctor nodded to the eagle who stood grave and quiet at his side, her golden eyes brimming with tears at the sight before her. Grace's eyes widened in alarm for a second but she did not utter any defiance of his affirmation, the things she had seen as a prisoner in this world clearly augmenting her innocent mind. She steeled herself and continued.

"We were happy, in the beyond," she said softly, "Clarence even came, made amends to us all but then the creature came and took us, said he could use us to get you. This thing knows who you are Doctor."

"What is holding you here Grace?"

"The lord of this world, the devil who turns into nightmares before our eyes. I have passed into Hell for my sins. He haunts me as Clarence as he knows he is who I most fear."

The Doctor gave Rose a bemused look, not understanding Grace's rambles, "I'm going to let you out of this cell Grace and I want you to stay by Rose, do you understand?"

"Yes," said Grace, stepping back as the Doctor used the sonic screwdriver to release the lock. As soon as it had sprung free Grace shot through the doors and into the Doctor's arms, crying into his shoulder. The Doctor held her tightly, comforting her as best he could.

"Its ok, you're safe now. Where's the little one?"

Grace left his arms and returned to the cell picking up a tiny bundle from the ragged bed in the dark corner of the room. She cradled it tightly to her and walked back over. The Doctor looked down at the baby in her arms and smiled.

"I'll get you both out of here, I promise," he said, "You said about a woman coming to you, who was she?"

"I don't know but she was very beautiful, a lady if ever there was one. Long dark hair and deep eyes, like crystal pools," said Grace, "She told me she needed my help to get a message to you and help you. She did this thing with my head, like she was in there and then I remembered seeing you and speaking to you or leading Rose down the corridors away from that false Doctor."

Rose shrieked, her message quite clear to the Doctor if no one else.

"Sounds very Time Lord," he said looking down at her, I'm going to look around, see if anyone else is here. I still have no idea what I'm dealing with. Stay here with Rose, Grace. I'm going to look in the other cells. Rose, keep your eyes open ok?"

Rose gave a soft twitter of affirmative, moving close to Grace's side but keeping her eyes on the room around her. The Doctor wandered into the dimly lit room, passing several empty cells before he saw one that was occupied. He peered through the gloom, trying to make out the figure hunched in the shadowy corner.

"Hey!" he called, "You awake in there?"

"Who are you?" came a voice the Doctor recognised well.

"Pete I'm a friend of Rose's," said the Doctor already seeing the confusion in the man's face and not wanting to frighten him any further by explaining his regeneration. He had realised from Grace's ramblings that all those imprisoned here probably weren't completely aware of themselves, "I'm here to help you."

"Rose is only a baby," said Pete, trembling as the cell door opened and her made to step out, "I don't know you. I'm confused."

"You and me both," said the Doctor, "Now I want you to go and stand where that girl and the eagle are ok. Stay with them."

Pete nodded and wandered over to Grace and Rose, leaving the Doctor to continue on with his search. He succeeded in releasing several more people he believed he would never see alive again. Catherine and Simon, terrified of Clarence as Grace was and their infants dragged away by such nightmares as children have. Clarence himself, his anger manifesting in a more loatheful form of himself. It was then that the Doctor began to feel pain, when those he cared about came to him. His father, dragged away by the guard of the senate and too shell shocked to form any coherent sentences; Susan, accosted by the High Priest of Sacrifice from their visit to the Aztecs; Reinette, unsurprisingly still terrified of clockwork robots haunting her even after death. The French woman clung tightly to his arm at first but he soon sent her off to the others he had released, hoping Rose kept her talons to herself when in her presence. The Doctor continued onwards, passing many empty cells, their contents nearly as fulfilling as his ideas on what had managed to hold everyone here.

"Little one?!" came a call to his left and he hurried to the cell door, instantly taking the hands offered to him.

"Knew I'd find you around here somewhere," said the Doctor, noticing with some alarm how haggard his mother looked, tired despite her beauty, "What's happening here? No one knows and I can't find the answers anywhere."

"You have to get out, get them all out. I don't have time to explain, its too complex," said the brunette woman, helping him loosen the stiff handle of the door, "You have to get away from here. He tempted you here with visions and I thought you could defeat him if you came but you have to run, get the others out if you can but forget us if you must. You and Rose have to run, you're flesh and he needs that. He wants you."

The Doctor stood stock still as she tried to drag him over to the others, his grip firm on her hand, "You know what it is, don't you?"

The woman nodded mournfully, "I know because I released it, I was the one who brought this burden upon you my son; the same way poor Clarence brought it to bear upon his family."

"What?"

"I wanted you protected, your father had warned me about the potential plot against us. You remember your Grandfather don't you?"

"Barely," said the Doctor, horror lighting his eyes that his mother had ever dabbled in anything as terrifying as what was around him.

"Well he knew the ancient ways, the ways before Rassilon, before the Time Lords themselves. He taught me when I was a child but his lessons never finished and I was left unknowing when he left me behind after I had your brother. I wanted you safe, I tried to call on what he taught me but it brought anger and pain, it's what killed your brother and sister."

"Mother stop it please, you didn't, you couldn't…" said the Doctor, cold realisation dawning on him as faded memories of his grandfather's teachings on the rare occasions they would meet came to mind.

"I called it up little one, the ancient protector, the one who dealt in blood."

"No, please no!" cried the Doctor snatching his hand away, "No you couldn't."

"Yes she could."

The Doctor turned his head as he heard a eerily familiar voice and a startled shriek from Rose. In the doorway they had first entered through there stood a figure he had never thought to meet face to face, the entity he had hunted manifested into the form he most feared. He almost had to laugh at himself as his first thought was to as whether his ears had ever been that big but he soon shook it off, taking several tentative steps towards the doorway, seeing Rose ushering the group a safer distance away. He watched the tall figure in the doorway, his arms crossed about him and one ankle resting over the other as he leant on the frame, a pose the Doctor remembered striking so often. He heard the brush of leather on leather as the figure in the doorway moved.

"I have to say," came the Northern drawl, "I was surprised when I found out what you were most afraid of. I wanted to become a Dalek or something with a little flare but no, the great Doctor, terrified of his own shadow, of his little human girl still lost in her love for your former incarnation."

"Hardly the best thing to be admitting that you're not him then is it?" said the Doctor, coming up to his alter-ego but seeing what Rose meant about it being wrong, never even in his darkest moments had he worn such a look of contempt, "And my fear for anything surrounding the past is dwindling with every second here, she came back to me."

Rose shrieked beside him, alerting him to her presence. If she could he was sure she would have put an arm about him but as it stood she just stared daggers at the manifestation before her, her feathers ruffling in agitation.

"Such a pretty plumage," drawled the other Doctor, "An improvement if you ask me, you did chatter so my dear."

Rose gave a piercing cry and took flight, turning her vicious looking talons towards him. The northerner just smiled, a tight rope attached to two heavy weights appearing hands with no effort on his part at all.

"Down birdie," he muttered, casting the weapon towards her.

The Doctor looked on in horror as the rope wrapped around her, anchoring her wings to her side and causing her to drop flightlessly to the floor with a cry of alarm. The second she landed the wispy blue light surrounded her and she lay in her human form once more. The Doctor rushed to her side, rolling her onto her back and frowning in alarm as he saw the bruising already starting to rise on her cheek where she had impacted with the floor. He felt for her pulse and sighed with relief as it echoed back at him strongly. He heard her take in a gasp of breath before eyes open. She looked up at him and then down over herself.

"At least I'm human again."

The Doctor smiled, "Can you stand?"

"Yeah," said Rose, "Just keep hold of me. What is he Doctor?"

The Doctor lifted her up off the floor, holding her close to his side as he set her on her feet. Rose took the hint and cuddled closer to him, fixing the impostor with a vicious glare.

"That thing is an ancient creature that survives on suffering," said the Doctor, noticing the others had been drawn to his side, his mother close on his right and Grace, grave and determined to his left, "It feasts on the horrors of the sub-conscious mind, plays on our darkest fears until we give in, give over to it and augment its power further. It is summoned by blood but it lives on greed and will only be satisfied when a soul and blood are given freely, until that time it draws in everything you have ever cared for, everything that lives in your mind even though it has passed from life. And if it must it can bring you to kill for its own gains."

"How very dramatic," came the voice from the doorway, morphing as it did into a shape that caused Catherine's eldest son to gasp in alarm. The creature had become a towering dragon like creature but its skin dripped with blood where its scales had come free. It hissed out a laugh, "Come then Doctor, give me my name if you dare pronounce it."

The Doctor released Rose and ushered her back into the crowd, a tension coming to his body that Rose had never seen before. He shot a look towards his mother and Rose looked up in confusion as she took a firm hold of her arm and shoulder, anchoring her to her side. Rose watched as the Doctor stepped forward the only thing betraying his nerves being the slight tremor in his hand.

"Cyka-Idralas," muttered the Doctor as if the very word struck terror into his soul, "The dealer of blood."

"And will you offer your blood freely for all those here, to save them all. If you strike the ancient bargain in payment for their follies then they shall go free, leave this realm and never be disturbed from their rest again."

"If you let them go, all of them, then you have it all," said the Doctor, turning back to the group, a deep sadness settling in his eyes. Rose whimpered as she recognised the look, the look that told her that he would do anything to protect her. She watched on in silence as the Doctor went to those he had cared for, embracing them in turn and even offering comfort to those who had been dragged in through Rose's mind.

Rose was released for a second as the Doctor held his mother close, whispering to her in some long lost language. A look on his face one of confusion as he pulled back but he did not question the woman before him. He pressed a kiss to her cheek.

"You will be free at last, all of you," he said softly, "It is no great sacrifice if I know you are safe."

"Doctor what are you saying?" said Rose, finally finding her voice as he stood before her.

"Rose," he breathed pulling her close, "My Rose. The Idralas is a entity older than even my world and what I said was true, he is the dealer of blood. Both Clarence and my mother offered blood for his protection in their ignorance of his power and he has sought his payment, payment he can only take from the living he chooses, not the dead. I offered blood in the same ritual when we passed over into the mirror, he had a claim to me and I can set everyone free if I fulfil that pledge. If it means that you will live on and that those who he has harmed before can be free then I will pay it willingly."

"But that's not what you do," cried Rose, "You beat it, you destroy it, you trap it. Doctor you don't just give up."

"This is beyond me Rose," said the Doctor, "Beyond anything I've ever learned or done but I promised to keep you safe, all of you…especially you."

"You can't just leave me," said Rose, trembling as he pushed away her tears with the pad of his thumb, "I love you."

She watched as the Doctor shut his eyes against his own tears, "I know and know that I love you too, with everything I am and that's why I have to do this. You just keep on living for me and we'll see each other again one day I know."

Rose didn't answer as he pulled her into a kiss and she realised just how right it all was, that all her dreams of older lips, of previous lives meant nothing compared to the man in her arms, the man who would sacrifice his life for her a second time, knowing there was no hope of another chance at living. He released her and turned back to the dragon-like Idralas and nodded his consent. The creature's lips curled into a feral smile before it began to pulse and shake, its chest opening to reveal a burning, blood red heart which beat a macabre rhythm. The cut the Doctor had made on his hand reappeared and the blood began to drip onto the floor before turning into gaseous form and flowing towards the Idralas' heart. The beast's heart began to beat faster and swell as the Doctor paled dramatically, pain evident on his face. The Idralas snapped out a long tail, wrapping it around the Doctor as he stumbled and began to pull him closer. When the Doctor was no more than an inch from the Idralas' twisted face he placed his hand against its heart, throwing his head back with a throaty gasp of agony.

"Doctor no!" cried Rose seeing the Doctor begin to grow paler as the Idralas grew brighter.

"Get them out of here!" cried the Doctor between desperate gasps for breath, "You don't have long until the bargain is complete and you have to get out."

Rose felt herself pulled roughly away by two strong, male hands and was surprised to see the quiet man the Doctor had called his father pulling her towards the staircase at the back of the room. She turned back to see the Doctor's mother running forward, hastily pulling something from the folds of her skirts. Rose almost cheered with glee as she saw the glint of the dagger in her hand and managed to pull herself free, calling to the others to keep running. She watched as the Doctor wrenched his hands away quickly and gave his mother room to plunge the dagger deep into the Idralas' heart, the blade ceasing the macabre beat and the creature screaming in agony as it folded in on itself into the ball of light. Rose ran forward and helped the woman lift the Doctor to his feet, finding him weakened. He struggled to his feet and managed to run with them towards the staircase.

"What did you do?" said Rose to the woman hastily wiping the blood from her hands onto the dark tunic she wore.

"No time to explain, just know that the sweet little country girl you saw isn't what she let you believe, now move."

Rose felt a level of amusement despite their frantic running as she watched the Doctor's expression of pride, any mirth was short lived however as she heard a great roar from behind her and turned to see the Idralas reformed again, this time into a swirling blue mass that followed like a tornado up the stairs. They clambered frantically upwards, the steps growing harder to navigate as the stones became looser. The others had outstripped them by a height and we're now leaning down to pull them all up. The Doctor looked up as he reached the pinnacle and saw the mirror they had entered through not a two hundred metre dash ahead.

"Run for the mirror," he cried, "Jump through and you'll be out, all of you go. You'll be free again, it won't reach you once you get passed the mirror. Grace darling you and Ivy will be free."

"Thank you," said Grace, pulling him close and pressing her lips to his before she dashed off, leading the charge towards the mirror.

The group needed no further prompting, their presences fading as they ran on, the Idralas' power loosing its hold on them. Rose kept to the Doctor's side, his hand firmly holding hers and his other gripping onto his mother as she ran beside him. Rose didn't dare look back as she heard the vacuum pressure of the cyclone of blue behind her. Her lungs burned and her heart felt close to bursting through her chest as she forced her body onwards, seeing each figure before her jump through the mirror and disappear. The Doctor loosed her hand and his mother's, moving behind them slightly as he pushed them along. The mirror came within reach and Rose felt a strong pressure on her back, forcing her forward and pushing her through the mirror. She didn't feel the impact but felt an odd sense of completion, sitting up swiftly in her own body once more and looking into the mirror.

She screamed at what she saw, the Doctor quickly shoved his mother beyond the glass and she landed heavily on the floor beside Rose but as he moved to throw himself through and thick tendril of blue smoke closed tightly around his neck and snapped him back. He struggled but more and more tendrils began to grab him pulling him back. Rose jumped to her feet and ran at the mirror, only to be thrown back as she met with solid glass. She watched in horror as the Doctor was pulled back down the corridor before her, struggling in the grip of the Cyka-Idralas. With a boom like the crack of the Earth the mirror shattered and the glass fell in pieces onto the wooden floor at her feet, leaving the frame and its wood backing only left in place.

"No!" said Rose, her hands tracing every last millimetre of the wood before her, "No, Doctor, no!"

She thumped hard against it, not caring for the blood on her hands from the few sharp pieces of glass that clung to the frame. Sobs racked her body as she cried out for him over and over, shaking with fear and loss and heart break. She barely registered the warm, soft arms that settled around her, gently pulling her back. She fell willingly into the embrace, not questioning it and sobbed inconsolably, feeling the form she held barely repressing her own tears. It was only when her initial grief had passed that she looked up and pulled back in surprise at the young brunette woman who held her.

"Why didn't you disappear like the others?" said Rose, sniffing as she took in the distraught woman before her.

"I didn't disappear because I'm not dead Rose, I was flesh when I went inside that world. He didn't know, I thought I could get him through the mirror but he wanted my soul free. He didn't know I was still alive."

"But, we saw you die," said Rose, far too confused by all the events that had passed, "We were in your house and we saw those people kill you."

"How much did you really see? How much before you hid your eyes?"

"I…" Rose trailed off, remembering how she had forced the Doctor to the ground, shielding them both from the sight before the first dagger stroke fell, "I don't understand, you were in pieces, there was blood everywhere and then you fell dead, on the table."

The brunette woman moved to kneel beside the Doctor's lifeless body, stroking back his hair. Rose was reminded of how often she'd woken at night on the TARDIS to see the picture before her, even now the Doctor looked to be only in sleep, the rose tint of his lips still not faded to the pallor of death. She watched a single crystal tear roll down his mother's face and coming to land on the silk of his tie.

"I only ever wanted him safe. My father dealt in ancient magic, taught me his tricks but never the dangers around them. He cut off most of his connections to me when I gave birth to my first son, he was ashamed but when my littlest one was born he came back to us. We heard of the plot to destroy our family and I begged him to help me call upon the ancient magic to protect us, he refused, warning me of the dangers. I went ahead alone. Cyka-Idralas in my language means the dealer of blood. You would have seen the ritual performed to open the mirror, an offering of blood. I thought that would be all that it took, little did I know what I'd unleashed."

Rose felt the anger boiling inside her then, her fists curled at her sides but she was too weak from grief to launch herself at the woman, relying only on her words.

"You set this thing on us?" she cried, "You set this thing on him!"

"I never meant to! I didn't know. Everything passed on after I had requested his protection but the Idralas wanted his payment and so he poisoned the minds of several men to destroy my infants. They struck the day my little one came home to me and I received word only a few hours before he arrived. I worked quickly, he would go to the protection of my father and I would go to the Idralas and offer my life in return for the end of it. I arranged for the men to come, they were servants of my father. What you saw them inject me with was a powerful sleeping drug that would slow my body to the point where I would appear dead for several hours following. I placed my son in the basement, knowing I'd never see him again. The men came, we struggled as we had planned, I even cracked one of their jaws in the reality of it all. They never stabbed me though. The sound you heard was metal on meat to be sure but all set up with a random piece of meat set in preparation that they took with them when they left. The heavy old robes we wore were easily used to conceal wounds but slashed and bloodied they would appear to be hiding deep lacerations."

"So, you faked your own death?" said Rose, curiosity getting the better of her as she knelt a little closer, "Why so violent though?"

"I had to make sure he was terrified enough to run. He was to run to the city and my father was to raise him but he was too clever, he hid too well. My father had regenerated when he finally found him in the Capitol and he chose never to tell him of who he truly was, raising him as if he was a foundling. Once my son's safety was secured I began my journey in search of the Idralas. Unlike you I never left my body behind, I went physically into the world of the Idralas. I had heard tales of a gateway to his realm and I searched the universe for it and when I finally found it, I passed into it. I faced the trials of the Idralas, as you faced them and I passed through to his inner sanctum. There he appeared to me in the horror of my youth, a beast of the forest beyond my home that would stalk in the night with no clear form, he appeared that way to me, a formless heart of menace but I faced him. I offered him my life in return for that of my son but he refused to take it, breaking the blood bargain for something more substantial to his needs. I had not realised in my quest how much time had passed, I had stayed young due to my bargain with the beast, but the Idralas showed me. My son had grown old and left his home world and in his time had witnessed so much darkness. Even a heart as good as his carries with it the weight of deeds when a hand is forced and even in his first life my son's deeds had brought him darkness. I could not fathom how the Idralas had such a connection to him but then I remembered his father's pendant that he always carried, a pendant of the same magic and irresistible to the Idralas."

Rose looked down at the body between them, absently resitting a button that had pop slightly loose. She closed her eyes for a second, still trying to let her mind accept that he had been pulled away from her to his death. Her mind still would not let her understand her position and she spoke in monotonous tones once more, "So the Idralas wanted to Doctor? What happened to you?"

"I was imprisoned, I would prove useful when the Idralas had the power to get through to the Doctor but that could only come when there were certain pieces in place and that only happened many hundreds of years later. The Idralas had other deals of blood throughout my history with him and I saw the offer ritual performed and taken. I realised his weakness came when he opened to the blood of others, hence knowing where to strike today. I had hoped the blow would kill but clearly I was wrong. His connection to my son came again when you landed in Penrith, the lay line activated and you became embroiled with another who had offered blood but this time for pain, not protection. The Idralas' power had not rested on the rest of Clarence's family as they had not passed over fully due to the nature of their deaths and so Clarence remained also, taunting and harming them whilst destroying anyone in his path for the Idralas."

"Like the Johnston boys," said Rose, "Like the Doctor. You mean saving them caused all this?"

"It was the catalyst, it would have happened anyway in the end. The Idralas became attached to my son and invaded his already desperate dreams but his pathway became mine also and that's why you saw me. As the Idralas harmed him, I soothed him, kept him from its harm but I could never tell him of his danger. When the Isolas took the TARDIS then everything was in motion, the beast could take control. This library had gone unused for generations but, through coincidence if you believe in such a thing it had been used for the practice of the ancient arts. The practice was innocent as the Doctor told you but the Idralas could still use it. Your dreams began and the power grew and the rest you know. I thought my blow would kill the beast at last but he was too strong and now he has taken the one thing I searched him out to protect. That's the legacy I've left my son Rose, my protection brought him death."

Rose didn't answer, she didn't even raise her head to look at the woman crumbling before her, she just lay down beside the man she had loved since the day he took her hand. Laying her head upon his chest she laced her fingers with his, finding them still warm to the touch. She closed her eyes against him, imagining the double heart beat at her cheek.

"I am not giving up on you yet."


	15. Don't Give Up

The walls around the cell were dingy and black with a slime he wouldn't want to guess the origin of. His captor had long since left to seal another bargain with a foolish person hoping to make good from evil. He understood it all now, the Idralas had taken great pains and pleasure in the explanation but it only gave him the fight he needed. The Idralas had a new quarry, a new prey but it would not take her and come what may he would not give up, he was going home and he was going to save her.

XXXX

The scent of vanilla filled the room and the glow of the candles gave everything a hazy glow, setting the scene into soft focus. Rose settled the bed covers around the Doctor, pulling the comforter up to his chest. She felt eyes on her from the door but continued her task nonetheless. She had finally given over to her grief in the library above the Cloister Room, crying into the pinstripe material of his jacket, clutching to him like she could bring him back to life if she just wished hard enough. The Doctor's mother had remained to one side, allowing her to mourn alone for the man she loved. When Rose's tears had dried though her resolve had only strengthened, he would get back to them or she would get to him, they never gave up that easily. It hadn't taken her long to convince her companion to assist her in carrying the Doctor's body down to their bedroom and she had set about putting him to bed, removing his jacket and converse lovingly before fitting the covers around him.

The job done Rose bent over him and pressed a kiss to his forehead, "You just sleep there, I'll find a way back to you."

"Rose?" came the voice from the door.

Rose didn't look up but a small smile quirked her mouth, "I know, but I have to hope. I never thought to ask, what am I meant to call you?"

"How do you mean?"

"Well I'm not one of these who call their potential in-laws Mum and Dad, but I don't know your name or title as that seems to be what your people go by, I can't go on not calling you anything though," said Rose finally looking up at the young woman in the doorway.

"My name would be too difficult to pronounce but I suppose the first two syllables sound like an Earth name, you can call me Dana if you like."

"Dana?" said Rose, "I like it, it suits you. Ok then, Dana. Seems you and me are stuck together and I don't know about you but I know the Doctor never gives up without a fight and I'm not about to either. The question is whether you're gonna help me or not, I'll need some of that Time Lord voodoo of yours to get back if I need to."

"Its not Time Lord," said Dana with a half smile.

"What?"

"My 'voodoo', its not Time Lord and neither am I. I'm Gallifreyan but I'm not a Time Lady, I had no interest in all that. Little one was the only one in the family with any inclination towards time travel."

"Why do you call him that? Little One?"

Dana smiled and looked around the room, "The Doctor," she said, smiling at the term, "Doesn't like people to know his real name, even those he really loves. The TARDIS is translating, it was still connected to you even in the Idralas' realm. Little One is the literal translation of his Gallifreyan birth name and so the TARDIS translates it out. I could say his name as often as I like and you won't hear it."

"I like calling him Doctor anyway," said Rose, readjusting the comforter before straightening fully, "Right then, I know the Doctor has a load of books on the occult in the library and we've got the one in the Cloister Room as well, we'll have to go through them page by page."

"Lead the way," said Dana, "And while you're there you can fill me in on why he regenerated this time. He's got a block that sets up around every regeneration and I can never pick up on them."

"Sure," said Rose, "Library's this way."

XXXX

"So Doctor," came the clipped, mechanical voice beside his cell, "Tell me more about Rose and what really terrifies her."

The Doctor had to shudder as he saw the form of Davros next to him, the Idralas now choosing one of his old enemies to taunt him with. He'd already witnessed a Dalek and borne it with good grace but now he was being spoken to in tones that had always chilled him. He turned his eyes back to his converse, twiddling a piece of straw bedding between his fingers.

"Considering that information is currently keeping her out of your way I'm hardly going to tell you," he said keeping his voice as dead pan as possible, "You won't get her down here again. She thinks I'm dead and so does my mother, they won't come looking."

"But she is so very fond of you, surely you'd hope that she would not give up faith so quickly," said the Idralas, its taunting tone not suiting Davros' voice.

"You won't get to her," said the Doctor, "Now how about we settle the bargain my mother made with you and be over it. I promised you blood, my life is yours to take in their stead."

"You sound so much like her, she came to me with much the same plea. My life for his, he's nothing but a child but by then Doctor you were so much more than a child, much more…succulent and now, through you, I have found Rose. Does she even know what the vortex did to her? Charged her up like a battery I can power off and destroy that worthless universe of yours."

The Doctor chose to stay silent, the conversation having followed the same thread for several hours already. He needed the Idralas out of the way to carry out his plan. He had knew something with regards to his mother was off when she had forced several simple hair pins into his hand when she had hugged him goodbye. He knew now she was being cautious, knowing the Idralas' power and doubting her abilities to defeat it. He was more joyful than shocked at the news of her having lived, grateful that she took such a sacrifice for his safety. The Idralas had though to hurt him with the information, the deceit she had forced upon him but he could only rejoice, his mother lived, his mother who was more than the mere country girl she had shown the world. The Idralas didn't know the danger he was in because despite his assertions to the contrary he knew Rose would not give up on him and now the two women he knew would fight for him with every breath in their bodies were coming for him, he just had to be ready.

Bored with the lack of conversation the Idralas moved off once more, morphing into its smoke light state and continuing through into one of the adjoining chambers. The Doctor pulled the hair pins from his pocket, cursing the mental block that stopped him just manifesting another sonic screwdriver, and began to fashion a skeleton key.

XXXX

Rose watched Dana from the large leather sofa in the library, seeing her sat cross legged on the rug by the fire, books scattered around her and paper and pen in her hand. Rose felt at once the happy twinge of memory and the desperate twinge of grief as she remembered watching the Doctor in the same pose on so many occasions. She was shocked with the resemblances between mother and son considering the regeneration process the Doctor had explained to her in more detail recently, including the number of times it had happened to him. Alongside the similarities to his current form she could still see the old Doctor in her also, the intense blue eyed stare, the elegant long fingers, the deep intelligence although Dana's did not seemed as refined as her son's. Rose had thought that being with Dana would be an odd experience, not only was she the mother of her nine hundred year old companion but also the second to last living member of her species. Rose thought she should feel honoured, humbled even but instead she felt as though she was in the presence of an old friend.

Rose was pulled from her reverie as Dana gave a soft exclamation of pride.

"Yes! Yes! Yes," she said softly, her eyes still scanning the page before her, "This is perfect. Rose, does Little One have a laboratory or a workshop, somewhere with lots of electrical gadgets?"

"This whole place is full of them but there's a room just passed the med suite that he uses whenever he's making anything big," said Rose, "What have you found?"

"Containment spell," said Dana, holding open the book towards Rose and causing her to wrinkle her nose in confusion at the circular script, "Its ancient, older maybe even than the Idralas. It weakens his power, enough to let us contain him."

"How?" asked Rose, getting to her feet and helping Dana to do the same before leading her out of the library and towards the work room.

"Did you notice in the chamber how depressed you felt?"

Rose gave her a quizzical look, "Just a bit, I was a bloody bird and then I got attacked by the guy my Doctor used to be and then…" she trailed off but looked up with a weak smile when Dana laid a comforting hand on her arm.

"Yes I can imagine that was depressing," she said softly, "But the thing is that room would feel depressing even if you were in the best of moods. The Idralas thrives on bad dreams, nightmares, pain; all those things create negative energy or, more pointedly negative ions therefore if we weaken him with a containment spell and then flood the room with positive ions we can then trap him in a space with negative ions that he'll have to retreat to. We seal it with a sub atomic adhesive lid and he can't escape, like a genii in a lamp. Simple."

"Jeez you can tell he's your son," said Rose, rolling her eyes in exasperation, "I understood about three words of that. Could you give it to me in ape please?"

"Ape?"

"Thicko language," explained Rose, "Ape is what the Doctor refers to as plain English, making things simple for us dumb apes to understand."

"You wait till I get my hands on the little upstart," said Dana before returning her attention to the book she still held open, "Simply Rose what we need to do is make a device that can flood a room with positive energy, quite easily manufactured and then something with the opposite energy inside to act as an attractive sanctuary for the weakened Idralas. Seal the lid and he's held nice and tight inside."

Rose pushed open the work room door and ushered Dana inside, again seeing her similarities to the Doctor as her eyes lit up at the gadgets contained inside.

"There is only one problem," said Rose, watching Dana settle down to work, "We can't take our own bodies into the Idralas' realm, how can we take any objects?"

Dana looked up and raised a perfect chestnut eyebrow, her blue eyes flashing with a fire that Rose remembered the Doctor often displaying before his regeneration, "Then we don't go in that way. I still know the co-ordinates for the entrance, it's a spatial anomaly, a bit like a black hole. We fly the TARDIS to the edge, space walk inside and then travel through to Little One, the ionic displacer…ooh I like that name…will help us defuse any nightmares the Idralas puts in our path."

"Did you just say we fly the TARDIS to this spatial wotsit? Slight problem is that I can't, the Doctor never taught me," said Rose.

"What do you think I went knocking about the universe in looking for the Idralas?" said Dana, beginning her work, "I think I can handle the TARDIS and I'll have you to help me. You need to learn Rose that my son may talk the talk but he is no smarter than me, how about a little girl power?"

Rose couldn't help but laugh, "You are so confusing," she giggled, "One minute you're all sedate and time lordy and the next you're talking about girl power! God help the universe I think I've found another Doctor!"

Dana laughed with her before frowning at the wiring she held in her hands. She began hunting on the desk in front of her, tutting about men never tidying anything properly and taking after their fathers, "Rose does the Doctor have anything that attaches wires without me having to route around for a soldering kit?"

"There's the sonic screwdriver," said Rose, "He always has it with him. I'll go…"

Dana looked up and gave her a weak smile, "Just imagine he's sleeping," she said knowing that Rose feared going to the bedroom where the Doctor's body lay and having to see him in that state, "He's still alive Rose, you must feel it."

Rose nodded slowly, "I hope so. I won't be a minute."

XXXX

The Doctor hushed the lock as it clicked free, the sound of it echoing in the expansive room. He carefully opened the door just enough to slip through and began his quest. He had seen on his entrance to the cavern several places where the wall had collapsed, leaving fragments of hard, granite-like stone that could make a crude weapon. He practically crawled to the nearest pile, trying to keep his eyes on everything at once. As quickly as he could he picked up the most substantial stones, stuffing them into his pockets before grabbing one last large on to use as a support as he worked. Scanning the room again he scurried back to his cell and closed the door, making sure to conceal the hair pins in his pocket once more. He stashed the rocks in the dark corner of the room before taking the large stone and several smaller pieces.

His thoughts fell on Rose and how much she would laugh at him for being so very caveman and fashioning weapons out of stone but his mirth was short lived as he muttered a soft wish that she would know he lived and that she would come for him. He set to his work, shaking his head, trusting fate that this would not be the place where he spent the remainder of his days. From the Idralas' tales he could make out that his mother had been captive for nearly seven hundred years by his reckoning in the desolate place he occupied now. He wondered how she found the strength to bear it but then he remembered the strength she had always shown in his youth. Even if the bigotry of his people had not cost her her life as he once though it had still left her being taunted when she was out, cast out of any social group for bearing the children of an unnamed father. For all their culture the Doctor knew his people we still far more backward than other civilisations but he could not hold them to their sins after their fate.

The Doctor cursed loudly as his finger slipped against the sharp edge of the stone. He hissed at the deep cut before searching his pocket for anything to wrap it. When nothing came to him he loosened the bandage around his arm but that only caused the wound on his arm to begin bleeding once more.

"Damn it!" he muttered sticking his finger in his mouth as a loss for anything else and continued muttering through it, "Bloody place! Get a shift on Rose."

Huffing at the unfairness of it all he settled back to his work, slightly more cautious than before.

XXXX

Rose had perched on the bed beside the Doctor for nearly ten minutes before she had even dared touch him or search for the sonic screwdriver. She had first looked in his jacket pocket but they had been empty save for the odd nick nacks he always carried. She knew he sometimes carried it in his trouser pocket but she couldn't bring herself to pull back the covers to take it and so she sat watching him, pretending she could see the rise and fall of his chest as he breathed. Tentatively she reached out a hand to stroke back his hair, wishing for all the world that his eyes would flutter open as they so often did when she woke him of a morning. She imagined the sleepy, chocolate pools that would mist in confusion for a second before softening into a smile as he recognised her. He would always reach up for her, pull her down so she settled against his chest, and press kisses to her hair, bidding her good morning before rattling on about the fabulous place he was going to take her that day.

Rose felt the tear in the corner of her eye as nothing happened but she blinked it away. Steeling herself she pulled back the covers and retrieved the sonic screwdriver from his pocket. She popped it into her own pocket before settling the covers around him. Taking his hands she settled them over the coverlet, one on top of the other. She frowned as she felt something warm on her fingers. She pulled her hand away and looked down at the glistening red blood.

"Ow!" she murmured, feeling no pain but wandering what she had caught herself on. She look for the source of the blood but found none. Her heart fluttering hard she picked up the Doctor's hand and examined it. On the side of his right index finger was a deep, fresh inch long cut.

"How on…?" Rose paused, quickly pulling back the covers and unbuttoning his shirt cuff. She rolled up his sleeve to his shoulder and saw the gash from the floor spikes. Instead of feeling pain for the injuries on his body she felt her heart swell in her chest. While the cut on his arm was healed enough, the mark on his hand was fresh. She sprang to her feet and ran to the door, throwing it open and yelling down the corridor.

"Dana! Dana! Come quick!"

She waited for a sound of someone coming but it didn't come.

"Dana!" she called all the louder, cupping her hands around her mouth to increase the sound. She heard the sound of hurried footsteps soon after and soon saw the young Gallifreyan running down the corridor towards her. Her face was frantic as she reached her.

"What's happened?"

"He's alive!" cried Rose, throwing her arms around the other woman, "The Doctor's alive!"

"What?" said Dana running passed her and into the room. She flew to the bedside and sat down, looking down at her soon, "Little One, can you hear me?...Rose, there's still nothing, no pulse, no breathing. You must have been imagining things my dear."

"No," said Rose, settling the other side of the Doctor, "I know he hasn't woken up but look at his hand, see the cut, the blood? Its fresh and I certainly didn't do it but why would it show up if he wasn't alive."

"By Rassilon I knew it," said Dana pressing a kiss to her son's forehead, "I knew he would stay alive but this means we must work faster. If he is showing any physical marks here that are being inflicted in the realm of the Idralas then we have to hurry, I don't want anything worse happening to him. Did you find the sonic screwdriver?"

Rose pulled it from her pocket and waved it for emphasis, "Right here," she said getting to her feet and making to follow Dana back to the door. She looked over her shoulder and hurried back to the bedside. She pressed a kiss firmly to the Doctor's lips, "I'm coming baby, hold on."

XXXX

The Doctor smiled lightly as his mind fell onto Rose's kisses. He let his mind wander for a second before returning to his work. He lifted the chipped granite to his face, examining the sharpness of the side he had made into a blade. Crude and hardly the best craftsmanship but a rudimentary dagger nonetheless. He was never one for weapons if he could help it but desperate times called for desperate measures and any threat to Rose was what he considered desperate. He hurriedly stashed his weapon in his jacket pocket as he felt the air around him change, signifying the return of the Idralas. It appeared through one of the archways in a form he didn't recognize, almost arachnid in body but human in its face. The Doctor shuddered at the twisted nightmare it must have come from. The Idralas drew a deep breath and altered once more, returning to the Doctor's ninth form. The Doctor bristled at the look.

"I would appreciate it if you'd stop running around in my old incarnations," he said, not getting up from his place on the cell floor.

"I grow used to it," said the Idralas, "And it reminds me how Rose felt beneath me."

The Doctor sat up at this, gripping on to the bars and peering through the gloom at the Idralas as it lounged on a chair that had just appeared, "And what's that supposed to mean?" he hissed.

"Well she was so convinced I was real she couldn't resist me, even when she began to realise things were amiss," said the Idralas, clicking his fingers so a hazy image appeared before him.

The Doctor averted his eyes as he saw Rose, laid out on the lounge room sofa, her top half undone as she moaned in pleasure at the man running almost bruising kisses down her throat. He steeled himself. Rose had never made any secret about her love for his old form and he was almost convinced of the reality of Gallifrey and Reinette, it made sense that she should fall as in love again. His thoughts fought for order in his head; she knew he was the same man, had accepted and loved him as he was now, she had come back to him. He shut his eyes in determination and willed another image to replace that which the Idralas created. He heard his own voice join Rose's in the gloom, one of his favourite memories playing out in place of the falsified image. Him and Rose laughing as they lay on a large four poster bed in a 17th Century Manor House, guests of Louis the Fourteenth. Her face growing suddenly serious as she traced the line of his jaw with a finger and professing her undying love for him.

The Doctor laughed to himself as the Idralas growled and quickly did away with the image. His mirth however didn't last as the Idralas morphed again and Dalek laser fire ricocheted off the cell bars. The Doctor pulled himself back from the bars, the figure before him as terrifying as all his nightmares. He heard the staccato voice ring out in the gloom.

"I could kill you Doctor and I will when I have her. You may taunt and mock but you will see her perish and me rise. Your behaviour before then will dictate the manner of her demise."

The Idralas morphed again to resemble the bull that Rose had herself created to scare herself in the passage way. Its fiery eyes turning squarely on the Doctor and its voice rang out like the crack of doom.

"She could go without pain, or in terror. Your choice Doctor."

XXXX

The work room had never looked so tidy after someone had finished in it, usually Rose would have to be threading her way through discarded gadgets and burned out electrics but today not only was the room hazard free but she was sure it was tidier than when they had started. She examined the two devices before her, one fashioned very much like the gun Jack had used on the Dalek when she had reappeared in the TARDIS after her capture. Rose wasn't sure but she could swear that some of the technology was taken from the very gun he had used. The second device was much smaller, fashioned in what appeared to be a bottle green glass and bronze but Dana had informed her it was much stronger and much more complex than a simple glass jar. The science of both projects was beyond Rose and she had left Dana to her task for several hours as she watched over the Doctor.

Dana had summoned her when the project was completed and Rose stood awaiting her instructions as what she had to do with the items in front of her.

"Right," said Dana, pulling Rose from her examination, "First thing we need is some space suits, we have to park the TARDIS a little outside the anomaly so we'll have to go in on a space walk. Where does the Doctor keep his equipment?"

Rose frowned, "I don't know, we've never done a space walk before. I wouldn't know where to begin."

Dana seemed to ponder for a moment before she brightened and took Rose's hand, pulling her down the corridor towards the control room. She stopped at the monitor and dropped Rose's hand, tapping away at the keys. Rose watched the monitor bring up a schematic of the ship, lights appearing in two rooms.

"Fantastic," cried Dana and Rose had to stifle the giggle that wanted to escape her, there was no denying she was in the presence of the Doctor's mother.

"What have you found?"

"Space walk equipment, including oxygen tanks are kept in an old storeroom on the third level and there is an armoury right next door, hopefully we'll be able to get ourselves something to distract the Idralas while we set up the disruptor," said Dana, "I'll go and get what we need. I need you to go to the library and get the candles and bones from the pentacle. Take them to your bedroom and carve the symbol at the foot of the long mirror, lay out the bones and light the candles but do not, whatever you do get blood on the etching. You do that and you'll get sucked in to the mirror, we need it as an exit not an entry and the symbol is enough."

"But the Doctor will be in there, what if something gets out of the mirror to him?" said Rose, the thoughts of some nightmare daemon harming him as he lay sleeping striking terror to her very soul.

"Nothing will get out, the Idralas will be concentrated on us. We need that gateway Rose, once we've crossed into the Idralas' world the TARDIS won't be anchored and will float. Don't worry she won't be harmed," said Dana, seeing Rose's expression grew more fearful, "But we will struggle to get back if we do not have the gate. Our bodies can pass through and the Doctor will be returned to his body as you were when we got through the last time. No get to it, we need to hurry."

Rose nodded and hurried off to complete her task. She was disappointed with her carving of the pentacle, the lines were slightly askew and it wasn't nearly as neat as the one in the library but it was all there and she hoped that would prove enough. She lit the candles and placed the bones as she had seen the Doctor do before. She looked up at the mirror and saw the slight ripple on its surface. Reaching a hand out to it she felt the water like texture of its surface, her fingers slipping beyond the glass and into the world beyond. She looked at the figure on the bed, so lifeless and her heart broke once again. A stubbornness came to her, dismissing talk of ionic disruptors and capture, she wanted to face the creature who had harmed him head on and destroy it. She got to her feet and took a step towards the mirror.

"Rose?"

Rose turned back to the voice, her dark manner lifting from her instantly and she stepped away from the mirror. Dana smiled in understanding before extending her hand already encased in the gloves of the space suit she wore, still minus its helmet.

"Come on, we should go."

Rose nodded before taking her hand and letting herself be lead back to the control room. She saw her space suit laid out on the chair and a variety of weaponry she couldn't even guess the origin of.

"The Doctor doesn't like guns," said Rose, surveying the collection.

"The Doctor's not using them," said Dana, "My son's principles are honourable and I would keep to them if I could but this thing is beyond even his talents unarmed. We shan't use them unless we have to. Now hurry into that suit while I get us moving."

Rose did as she was told, watching in concern as Dana barely moved from the monitor as the central column worked away, signalling their flight. Rose pulled up the final zip on her suit as the central column came smoothly to a halt.

"What's the matter?" she asked.

"Nothing," said Dana, "We're there. Pop your helmet on."

"You mean we landed?"

"Well parked in open space by the anomaly yes."

"But we didn't…there was no…" Rose trailed off giggling, "He's not going to hear the end of this one. I'll have him make sure you drive on all our adventures after this."

She noticed an expression she couldn't fathom fall over Dana's face for a second but it was soon replaced by the now familiar dazzling smile.

"Yeah, wouldn't that be something," she said, pulling on her helmet and sealing it, turning on the oxygen supply before helping Rose to do the same. She slung the disruptor across her back and attached one of the guns to her leg, "Pick one."

Rose scanned the guns but then shook her head, picking up the containment jar only, "I can't," she said, "He doesn't like guns and neither do I."

"Ok," said Dana, "Just stay close to me in there then. It shouldn't be so bad this time through, you know what to expect and a quick burst from the disruptor will hopefully dispel the vision. You ready?"

"As I'll ever be," said Rose as they moved to the doors. Rose pushed them opened and gasped at the sight before her. Not a black hole but deep, midnight blue, surrounded by the wispy light she remembered from the manifestations. She felt a chill go through her and as she stepped off the threshold she was sure the blue tendrils twisted into a fingered hand, beckoning her inside.


	16. A Mother's Sacrifice

"Its ok, you're ok," said Dana, gathering Rose close as the manifested ropes fell away from her and disappeared, "Its gone, you're alright."

They had barely passed five minutes in their journey to the inner sanctum before they had been set upon by various nightmares they both had. Although they were more quickly dispersed by the disruptor they were still terrifying. The latest had involved Rose bound and gagged, facing a gang of boys from her secondary school, brandishing scissors and threatening to cut off her hair and scar her face. Dana had soon destroyed the illusion but Rose was still shaken, the memory all too vivid representation of what had really happened to her.

"I'm sorry, that must seem really childish," said Rose, glad they had been able to remove their helmets in the atmosphere, allowing her to wipe away her tears.

"Not at all, that looked terrifying. Are you okay to go on?"

"Yeah," said Rose, getting to her feet, "How much further?"

"Hard to say, the Idralas is aware we're here judging by the activity but he will appear to us when he'd ready. Be on your guard though, things will get worse before we can get to him and he seems to be concentrating on you," said Dana, shouldering her weapon once more, "Come on."

XXXX

The Doctor wanted nothing more than to break from his cell and stab the Idralas to death as it sat giggling on the ornate chair it had created for itself, currently manifested as The Editor he had encountered on his first trip to Satellite Five. The hazy image he had seen of Rose in the TARDIS had now been replaced by a running film of Rose and his mother's journey through the Idralas' trials, their weapon revealed and already sniggered at.

"Ooh your mummy's a clever one isn't she?" said the Idralas with a mocking grin, "And so caring towards darling Rose. You're lucky, most mother's hate their daughter-in-laws for taking their sons from them but I suppose as she abandoned you she really doesn't care who has you."

"She didn't abandon me," said the Doctor, his hand closing around the blade in his pocket, his fingers digging deep enough to draw blood, the pain keeping his mind on track, "Why don't you just bring them here? You can't do anything with Rose running round your little fun house."

"But its so much fun," said the Idralas, "She terrified of everything. That thing with the spiders was too much, far too easy. By the time she gets here she'll be a wreck."

"Underestimating her would be a mistake," said the Doctor, "She won't give up."

"Oh won't she?"

XXXX

The corridor wasn't as dingy as she remembered but she was still on the look out for the snapping mandibles of the Mantodeans as she shuffled along behind her more confident counterpart. Rose quickened her feet as she realised that Dana had managed to get several metres ahead of her. She held the containment jar a little tighter, praying to god that the plan worked and that they would find the Doctor alive and well. She strained her ears as she heard something in the darkness, muffled shouts of someone in agony. She grabbed on to the strap of Dana's space suit and hauled her to a stop.

"What the…?"

"Can you hear that?" whispered Rose, the moaning cry a little louder than before, "It sounds like someone in pain."

"Its one of the Idralas' tricks, ignore it," said Dana, continuing down the corridor.

"Rose? Rose!" came the weak cry, "Rose help me."

"It's the Doctor," said Rose, her heart hammering hard against her rib cage.

"No its not, come on," said Dana, "Rose you have to keep moving."

"But he might have escaped and been injured, I can't leave him in pain."

Rose hurried her feet after the sound, weaving down corridors she hadn't seen before when she and the Doctor had first travelled through the realm. The voice grew louder and more desperate with every step and she hurried onwards, only stopping when she saw the crumpled body on the floor. She ran to him and lifted him into her arms, choking at the map of pain across his exposed skin.

"I'm here, I'm here," she said brushing back his hair from his face, "Doctor you're going to be alright."

"I got away, I tried to find you," came the reply, muffled against her chest as she held him close, "They all came, came and hurt me. I couldn't get up. He's coming for us, you can't stop him Rose."

"Yes, we can," she said rocking him as Dana came around the corner, "You're Mum is here and we've got a plan."

"He knows it all," said the Doctor, "It won't work, he knows about the disruptor and it won't work, he's prepared for you. We have to run Rose, get out of here. He wants you, the darkness of the vortex is still in you from the Game Station and he can feed off that, we have to go."

"How do we know you're who you say you are?" said Dana, helping him to his feet despite his harsh words.

"You have to trust me," said the Doctor, "You trust me don't you Rose."

"Of course," she said as the Doctor pulled her into a hug before pointing to a stair case to his right.

"That leads to a way out, we'll have to climb."

He turned to the staircase and began his ascent. In a flurry of movement Rose grabbed the gun from the holster on Dana's leg and held it to the back of the Doctor's head. He stopped suddenly, raising his hands in surrender as she pressed harder, her finger on the trigger.

"Now how about we stop this bullshit?" she said through clenched teeth.

"Rose darling what are you doing?" said the Doctor, "We need to get out of here."

"You didn't take my hand."

"Well I'm a bit distracted with all the escaping we have to do, forgive me if I forget to be romantic."

"You didn't take my hand," repeated Rose, her finger twitching on the trigger, "You always take my hand. Now disappear or I'll shoot, I'm getting bored of these games."

"Rose honestly, its me. Please, this is what it wants, you not to trust me. It wants you to kill be because you'll be defenceless. I'm the only one who can get you out of here. I'll prove its me, question me."

Rose relaxed her hand slightly but didn't remove gun from his head, she searched her memory and felt something touch her consciousness, a sensation that always warmed her. She felt the sweet caress of the TARDIS in her mind and smiled as her question came to her.

"When was our first kiss?"

"That's easy, Penrith under the moonlight while we read Romeo and Juliet."

"Wrong," said Rose pressing the gun a little harder into his skull.

"Ok, alright, if you think it counts, New Earth when you were possessed, that was the first time we kissed."

"Wrong again," said Rose, the hiss evident in her words as her decision was made, "Satellite Five before you regenerated. You kissed me to save me. You're not my Doctor."

The shot rang out and echoed around the corridors. Rose lowered the gun and opened her eyes, hoping that the room had changed to show the inner sanctum and the Idralas ready to face her properly. She looked down in horror at the body sprawled at her feet, the impact of the bullet evident on her boots and clothes. She heard Dana scream next to her as nothing failed to alter around them. Rose felt sick, she wanted to scream, to cry, to take the gun to her own head as cold realisation dawned on her. It was real, he had been real and she had shot him. The warmth of the TARDIS had faded from her mind and she realised to her horror that it had been the manifestation rather than the Doctor. She looked at the weapon in her hand, that too splattered with blood and pulled back the hammer once more. She lifted it to her temple, her hand shaking so hard that she had to keep repositioning it.

"I'm sorry," she said and she began to squeeze the trigger. Her hand stilled suddenly. She looked to Dana but the woman was in no state to notice, her eyes trained solely on the body of her son. Rose squinted in the growing gloom or the corridor and then down at the body at her feet. Ignoring the choking sickness at the mess and wrestling the jacket off his body and pulling his shirt up from his waist. She saw it then, the absence of the secret only she knew of. She got to her feet and wrenched the disruptor from Dana's hands. She aimed it at the body and keeping her eyes open this time she pulled the trigger.

The room around her shimmered and faded from view, reappearing as the inner sanctum they had been searching for. Dana slowly came to her senses beside her as Rose handed the disruptor back to her and turned to the figure who stood clapping in the corner. Rose let her lips twist into a triumphant smile as she looked upon the Doctor's Ninth incarnation.

"Very impressive," he said, walking towards her but pausing as he reached the cell that contained the Doctor, he gave it a swift kick, "I almost had you but then you stopped, what were you looking for?"

Rose looked over to her proper Doctor and gave him a winning smile, seeing the pride in his eyes, "Tattoo," she said simply, "Made him get one of a rose on his hip when he lost a bet. He never told anyone and I figured you wouldn't have thought to put that much detail into the image. I think that's one to me don't you?"

"We'll see," said the Idralas clapping his hands in front of him, "Rose Tyler, you really are quite the conundrum aren't you? Shop girl, time traveller, girlfriend of the last Time Lord, and probably one of the most powerful creatures in existence, to me at least."

"Rose…" said Dana.

"Stay out of this!" snapped the Idralas, "I'll be dealing with you later, you made a bargain to remain here and you broke that. Then you insult me by coming to my realm with that pitiful creation of yours, as if some ion particles could harm me."

The Doctor silently slipped from his cell as the conversation continued but the Idralas soon turned his eyes to him.

"Go, stand beside them if you wish and you can keep your little granite dagger as a souvenir," said the Idralas, "I have no fight with you any longer Doctor. Rose and I need to talk now."

The Idralas morphed quickly into the bull that had terrified her and the Doctor watched as Rose gave a small shudder before calming herself. There was a slight tremor in her voice as she spoke.

"I'm not afraid of you," she said, "You're no stronger than us."

The Idralas just snorted in reproach and stalked towards her, "You can save them Rose, just give yourself over child. The disruptor won't work, that pitiful piece of technology you hold won't contain me. You're Doctor can go free and I'll even let the woman leave if you just give up."

Rose looked over her shoulder and Dana nodded, pulling a folded parchment ripped from the ancient book from her pocket. She began to recite the words but the Idralas simply laughed before a gag snapped tightly around Dana's mouth and despite both hers and the Doctor's best efforts it could not be removed. The paper caught alight at their feet and soon burned to nothing, the containment spell lost. When Rose looked up again she saw the Idralas around her in cyclonic form once again, the swirling blackness surrounding her and blocking out her view of the Doctor and Dana. She could hear the Doctor's voice and Dana's as the gag was finally released but she didn't know if they were pleading for her release or threatening to fight. Neither seemed to matter as the darkness closed around her. She stilled her heart, finding the bravery to sacrifice herself to save them.

"Idralas?" she called out.

Two large electric blue eyes appeared above her in the cyclone, their mirth evident. She felt a chill through her as they appeared to stare deep into her very soul. The cyclone increased its pace and the Doctor's voice was the last to be drowned out. Tendrilled hands drew themselves across her body but she repressed the shudder. Instead placing the useless container at her feet and straightening up to her full height.

"What do I do?" she said. A dagger appeared in her hand, ornate and ritualistic. She took the hint and pulled off her glove with her teeth. She looked down at her palm , seeing the perfect ivory skin, remembering the feel of the Doctor's hand in hers. She took the blade and laid it to her skin, the metal cool and biting. Gritting her teeth she pressed down and with one swift stroke she pulled it from her palm. She groaned in agony but repressed the scream that wanted to leave her. She loosed the dagger from her grip and it clattered to the floor. The eyes closed in something akin to carnal pleasure as the vapours from her blood drifted up to surround them.

Rose heard the thud of a heart, deep and resonating that made her stomach flip as if a percussion band had just walked passed her. She blinked her eyes to clear them of the swirling blackness before her but her vision barely cleared. She wanted to hear the Doctor's voice, the whirr of the disruptor as it fired up, Dana reciting the words that would save them all.

Relax

Rose looked around her as she heard the voice in her head, something off about it as it made no sound but she heard it perfectly. She felt herself grow slightly in stature as the Idralas continued to moan in delight and she was frightened, the Doctor had weakened in the ritual but she felt stronger. She watched as the heart that she had previously witnessed in the dragon appeared before her, thumping its macabre rhythm. She lifted her hand slowly, the icy tendrils wrapping around her and pulling her closer. She shut her eyes as her hand connected, flinching as she felt the thumping muscle and her own blood mingling with it. Pain ran through her and she screamed in the noiseless vacuum of the cyclone but her scream soon turned to something she didn't recognize. Words rolled off her tongue that she was sure she could not pronounce and a power surged inside her.

She closed her hand tightly around the heart, digging her nails into the flesh as the words continued to come to her. The Idralas had stopped its moaning and she felt the tendrils dragging at her, pulling her back but she held fast, causing the creature to cry in pain as she tightened her grip. She kept repeating the alien words, not understanding them but not stopping them. She practically sang with the power they gave her and above her own voice she could once again hear the Doctor and Dana calling out but the pleading tone had gone, replaced by exulted shouts of praise and amazement.

"Release me!" growled the Idralas, the cyclone thrashing as it tried to drag its heart away, "You cannot do this."

Rose continued her chant, feeling her foot move of its own accord to kick open the lid of the container at her feet. She focused her eyes on the heart before her, noticing with pride how it shrunk in her grip as vapours escaped from every side. She counted them as each of the souls she had known and it had hurt. Her father, Grace, Ivy, Catherine, Simon, the children, Clarence, Susan, the Doctor's father, Reinette, Dana. She shut her eyes tight, the chant subsiding but the powerful feeling remaining. She looked up and stared deep into the blue eyes, contorted in pain.

"For my Doctor," she said almost laughing with relief as she heard the sound of the disruptor firing up behind her. She smiled ruefully and pulled with all her might, yanking the heart from deep within the cyclone and stuffing it into the container. She felt the air leave her as her hand was released and the cyclone tightened around her. She screamed in pain as she felt her very soul being ripped out through the top of her head and as the pain became too much to bear she turned herself, settling her eyes once more upon the shock of brown hair and chocolate eyes of the man she loved. She smiled weakly before her eyes closed and she fell to the floor, as lifeless as one cold in the ground.

XXXX

"Good girl, open your eyes Rose, that's my girl," came the soft voice above her.

"Mum?" croaked Rose, finding her eyes heavy and gritty as she revelled in the cool cloth against her forehead.

"I thought you were one of those girls who didn't refer to their in-laws as Mum and Dad."

Rose forced her eyes open and focused of the soft, feminine features above her, "Dana?" she said blinking, "What happened? I can't remember, where's the Doctor?"

"I'm right here," said a familiar voice and Rose felt warm fingers flex against her palm, "And you're memory will return in time. You have retrograde amnesia but it will pass."

Rose looked down at their entwined fingers then up at him, "Definitely know its you though, no one else would talk like that," she said, feeling his free arm come around her and lift her to sitting. She looked around the dim hall of the inner sanctum and her thoughts turned immediately to the Idralas, "Did we win?"

"Oh yes," said Dana holding up the container, a ruby red light glittered behind the green glass, "Kinda glittery don't you think?"

"You did it then, the disruptor worked?" said Rose, grateful to feel the Doctor's firm chest at her back as she felt unable to sit up herself any longer. She felt his lips against her hair as he squeezed her gently to him.

"You did it Rose, if it wasn't for you we'd all be dead. You'll remember in time but you were the one who recited the containment spell, you weakened him."

Rose turned her head to look at him and instantly regretted it as colours swam in front of her eyes. She rested her head back against his shoulder, frowning, "How could I? That spell was in ancient Gallifreyan or something like that. I can't read your scrawl at the best of times."

"But the TARDIS can," explained Dana, "And like she can translate as she pleases she can also tell you what to say. I flipped off the translator before we left so that you could understand her and let the words through. You got close enough to the Idralas that by the time he realised what you were doing it was too late, he's trapped now and can't hurt anyone ever again."

Too confused and exhausted to question them further, Rose turned herself in the Doctor's embrace and curled into him, basking in the familiar warmth and scent of him. She felt herself being lifted and cradled like an infant, the gentle rocking motion of his walk soothing her against him. She wasn't sure how long they travelled but she was sure it bordered on hours, she didn't know if she had fallen asleep or not but she felt his arms tighten around her slightly, rousing her.

"Rose? You need to stand up now."

Rose let herself be set on her feet but stayed close to his side. Behind Dana she could see the path they had first travelled upon, the lights along it slowly blinking out. Rose turned and saw the mirror before her and her bedroom beyond, the candles flicking and casting a shadowy warmth over the body of the Doctor on the bed. She smiled up at the man next to her and took hold of his tie, pulling him down into a tender kiss. She heard the faint cough to her right and turned to see Dana giving them an arch look.

"You two should be more concerned about getting home don't you think?" she said, smiling at the couple.

Rose smiled, realising the Doctor was still a little ill at ease next to his mother. She had heard Dana explain his true history as they had travelled but the Doctor's reactions had been lost in her half slumber. She could not allow her heart to be pained however for the difficulties they would have now, they had many years to rebuild the lost years and Rose was glad that there would be someone with the Doctor if and when she was ever called to leave him.

"I can't wait to see what he does when he realises you can pilot the TARDIS better than he does," said Rose, nudging the Doctor in the ribs, "Best ride in that thing that I've ever had."

"Hey, I'm a wonderful pilot. Do you wanna drive?" he said, no anger in his voice, "Besides Mum or not, no woman gets to drive the TARDIS on regular occasions. Women drivers are a universal constant."

Rose gave a playful snort of offended anger and whacked his arm lightly, mindful of his injuries but she was surprised to see Dana's face remain grave and silent. As silent as she had been for the proceeding few minutes Rose realised.

"Dana?"

She gave a choked smile, "You won't have to worry about me driving little one."

"Hey, I was only playing," said the Doctor, reaching out for her hand, "If you prove a better driver then I'll be quite happy to kick back and watch the world go by while the women around me do all the work."

Dana laughed weakly, "You're as lazy as your father than," she said, clasping his hand in both of hers and looking up at him mournfully, "I won't be driving because I won't be coming with you."

"Why?" said the Doctor, "Where are you going to go? You said yourself your ship is lost and there's no Gallifrey to go back to. You wouldn't be in the way, we've plenty of room and you can get together with Rose's mum and make our lives hell. Do everything you're meant to do."

Rose stepped aside as Dana took her son's face in her hands, raising herself on to tiptoes to press a kiss to his forehead, "I'm not good at doing what I'm meant to. I can't come and you can't change my mind."

"But where will you go?" said the Doctor.

"I'm staying here," said Dana, "The containment of the Idralas isn't as strong as I'd hoped and someone needs to stay and watch over it. Besides, I've been here for nearly nine hundred years, this place is home."

"Mum…"

"Hush," said Dana, placing a finger to his lips, "You've coped without me for so long and you can again. You don't need me."

"Of course I do," said the Doctor, "You're my Mum, I always needed you and I can't let you stay here, in this dreadful place."

Dana smiled and pulled back, extending her arm to the space beyond her, "Its not so dreadful now."

Both Rose and the Doctor gasped as they stared down at a scene they both recognised, feeling the sunlight warming their skin and the wind ruffle their hair. Before them lay the hills and silhouette of Gallifrey's Capitol and below the hill they stood on lay a picturesque little village, like something off a chocolate box. The Doctor turned back to his mother, surprised to see the black jump suit she had been wearing replaced by the clothes he remembered from his childhood, her long dark hair dancing in the breeze.

"How…?"

"With the Idralas gone the manifestations I can create are no longer evil and I can revel in them and so, I'm going to have the life I always wanted. I was never cut out for space travel, I only did it for you. No, all I wanted was my little cottage with summer flowers in the garden and my family around me," said Dana, gesturing to a group of people waiting at the base of the hill.

Rose smiled as she recognized the Doctor as a boy and guessed at who the other three figures were. She slipped her hand into the Doctor's bringing him back to reality.

"We can always visit," she said softly to him, "Come back."

"You can't," said Dana, "Once you leave I'm going to make sure no one gets back in, then the Idralas will never get back out but I will be able to look in on you from time to time. You might not see me but I'll always be with you, both of you. Will you take care of him for me Rose?"

"I always have," said Rose, looking behind her at the mirror and then back up at the Doctor. She raised herself up and kissed his cheek, causing him to offer her a weak smile, "I'll be waiting on the other side for you."

The Doctor nodded silently, clearly not trusting himself to speak just yet. Rose loosed his hand and turned to Dana, smiling at the woman she had barely known a day and yet trusted like she had known her all her life. The Gallifreyan woman opened her arms and Rose went to her embrace, blinking away the few tears that threatened at their parting. She pulled back, smiling.

"You just be happy yeah?" she said, "And make sure that version of the Doctor turns out just as naughty and wonderful as the real thing."

"I will," promised Dana, "Thank you so much Rose. I'm so proud to call you my daughter because regardless of how long it takes him to ask you to marry him I will always think of you as my daughter, no arguments."

"I'm still not calling you Mum," giggled Rose as Dana pressed a kiss to her forehead, "Take care."

Dana bit back her own tears as Rose turned to the mirror and stepped through, moving over to the bed in the room beyond and sitting on the bed, her back demurely turned on the scene behind her.

Dana turned back to her son and reached up to turn his gaze down to her, "We never got a proper goodbye last time did we?"

"Why won't you come?" said the Doctor, barely keeping a reign on his emotions, "I need you."

"Do you though?" said Dana softly, "You were twelve when we parted little one, so many years have passed by and look what you've become without me. I'm so proud of you. No, you go on, live the life you always dreamed of and share it with that wonderful girl."

"But I've only just found you."

"And you'll always have me baby but I can't exist in that world. Do you remember when you were small and you ask me what happens when we lose our final incarnation?"

The Doctor nodded wordlessly, bringing his forehead to his mother's shoulder and closing his eyes as her arms went about him.

"Do you remember what I told you, about the beyond? That when we close our eyes that last time you wake up in a room full of people and regardless of race or species everyone you've ever loved is there and nothing bad ever happens. I still believe that's what happens," said Dana, tightening her arms around him, "And that's where I'm going to be waiting for you when this world is over for us but until then, we have to say goodbye."

"I hate goodbye," said the Doctor, "Always so much to say and never enough time to do it."

"Its in your eyes already," said Dana, pressing a kiss to his forehead before hugging him tightly, "I love you."

"I love you too," said the Doctor, "Just promise me you'll be happy."

Dana turned to the people below and a handsome young man the Doctor recognised as his father waved up to her, blowing a kiss towards the both of them. Dana nodded as she turned back to him.

"I have to go, they're waiting and so is Rose. Go back to her, just step on through."

The Doctor hugged her one last time before turning to the mirror, he stepped up to it before flying back to her side and holding her tightly, almost lifting her off her feet, "Thank you," he said, his voice muffled by her hair.

Dana released him silently and gave him a gentle push towards the mirror. The Doctor closed his eyes and stepped on through. He felt the odd viscous liquid cover him and then the strange tingle of familiarity come around him. He felt soft skin against his hand and a warm palm against his heart. He opened his eyes to be met by two smiling brown orbs. Without a second thought he sat up, embracing Rose tightly to him and breathing in the scent of her.

"You okay?" she asked, lacing her fingers in his hair.

The Doctor nodded, turning his face into the skin of her neck and losing himself in her perfume, "So long as I have you," he said.

Rose released him gently and tugged him to his feet. She walked over to the mirror and saw the young woman before her and the Gallifreyan landscape beyond. Rose raised a hand to wave and Dana waved back, a warm smile gracing her beautiful features. She raised her fingers to her lips and pressed a kiss to them before blowing it towards the Doctor.

Rose felt no alarm as all the candles went out, plunging the room into blackness. She heard the whirr of the TARDIS engines and the overhead lights flickered on, illuminating the room once more. Rose glanced back at the mirror, smiling as she saw both her figure and the Doctor's as they should be staring back at her. She turned and looked up at him, seeing the unshed tears in his eyes.

"Got you back," she said softly, taking his hands.

"Yeah, never doubted you for a second," he said, looking set to crumble any second.

Rose reached up a hand and drew her thumb across his cheek, the action causing several tears to drop onto her hand. She gave him a mournful smile, finding the only word she needed came to her instantly, "Tea?"

The Doctor nodded, his expression halfway between tears and laughter, "Tea would be good," he said as she led him away from the mirror.


	17. Thank You for Loving Me

The wind blew a fragile skeleton leaf across the grass and over the small gravel path until it fluttered to rest on the elegant stone work, still fairly intact despite its age. Where before had been nothing but an empty patch of land before the headstone there now lay a delicate bunch of lilies, hand tied in yellow ribbon. The breeze fluttered the petals as it sighed through the trees that canopied over head, shading the quiet, lonely spot from both the sun and rain, creating a timeless place of rest. Long, elegant fingers traced the well worn lettering, carving out the name anew. Jeanne-Antoinette Poisson.

Not far off from the figure knelt by the graveside stood a small stone bench, its soul occupant silent and reverent to the scene before her. Watching but respecting the privacy the moment called for. She turned her eyes to the ground at her feet as the man at the grave side wiped away an errant tear, keeping them trained on her baby blue walking boots until she heard the crunch of the gravel beneath familiar converse as he stood and came towards her. She looked up into wet but happy eyes and took the hand that was offered to her, pulling herself to her feet and then hugging him tight.

"You okay?" Rose asked, whispering in the silent graveyard.

"Yeah," said the Doctor rubbing her back gently, "Thanks for being so understanding."

"You needed closure, too many goodbyes not said can't be good for you," she said, pulling back and fixing his gaze, "I only wish I could do more, help you find all the others."

"This was one of the important ones," he said, "I only hope that none of them remember what the Idralas did to them."

"They're resting Doctor and even if they do remember, they'll also remember what you did for them," said Rose, taking his hand as she led him from the small graveyard in the centre of Paris.

Not two days before they had visited Penrith and the graves of Grace and her family, both of them wanting to say goodbye to them once again. Rose had made a point of picking the wild flowers that had been growing on the burned out site of the old house to lay upon the graves, even laying some for Clarence. The Doctor had left her to her task at one point, going into the small church. Rose had sought him out later, finding him staring up at the altar from his place on the pew, far from prayer but introspective nonetheless. She had sat beside him and taken his hand, asking him if he felt any better having visited the graves and putting aside the memory of the Idralas and its torture. In his often arch style he had pushed away the question, claiming science and reason over the belief of souls and the importance of a grave. Rose had seen the sadness in him though and that night she had made a suggestion she would have thought would cause her pain but only brightened her heart to know that she could help him.

So now they stood in a Paris graveyard in two thousand and seven, a quiet little known place where the once celebrated mistress of Louis the Fifteenth spent her rest. Rose had always been jealous of Reinette, her beauty and wit attracting the Doctor and pulling him off course while his relationship with Rose was only in its fledgling stage. The pain Rose had felt at the time had been immense but it had cooled over the months following, as her love for the Doctor grew and his in turn for her. She knew however that he had never got to say goodbye to the woman who had held his heart if only for a brief time and Rose knew all to well the pain of not saying goodbye only she had the good fortune that the man she couldn't say goodbye to still lived on.

Rose cast a look back over her shoulder as they passed the gates onto the street once more, smiling at the image of the canopied graveyard and finding it a fitting place for Reinette, understated and elegant. She turned to find the Doctor smiling down at her, his brown eyes holding the familiar spark of adventure once again.

"I've just thought," he said, with a familiar grin, "While we're in Paris I'll just have to take you up the Eiffel Tower."

Rose raised an eyebrow at his tone, "Indeed? I don't know whether that's a threat or a promise," she muttered, taking hold of his tie and pulling his face down to hers, "But knowing your filthy mind darling I can imagine that its much more of a promise."

"You know me so well."

"Don't I just," said Rose, allowing him to straighten and taking his hand, "Come on then, isn't it about time you took votre dame to Notre Dame?"

The Doctor groaned as Rose hurried off down the path, throwing a bright smile over her shoulder, "Rose Marion Tyler that was just bad!"

XXXX

"Right, space suit on, where are we going?" asked Rose, bounding into the control room in the same black space suit she had worn to enter the Idralas' realm, her oxygen mask tucked under her arm.

She paused, regarding the Doctor as he worked, his back to her as he fiddled with the controls and clearly so deep in work that he hadn't heard her. She set her helmet down on the captain's chair and began to tiptoe over to him, intent on giving him a shock. She was barely an inch away when he spoke.

"I know you're there Rose," he said.

"Damn," muttered Rose, "Why aren't you kitted out? You told me to be quick and you're not even out of your jacket."

"I'm not going," said the Doctor turning to her, an expression on his face one that Rose had never seen before and it frightened her.

"Doctor what's wrong?"

"Nothing, just not something I can come with you on is all."

"You're not making sense," said Rose plonking herself against the console only to be ushered off once more and over to the captain's chair. The Doctor sat her down and took up her helmet, tucking her hair inside before securing it to the suit. He flipped up the front visor and leant in, pressing a kiss to her lips.

"I've been thinking…"

"That's never good…"

"Rose please…"

Rose shut her mouth at the pleading tone he addressed her with, frowning at the look her gave her. She felt like the most delicate thing in the world as his hand came to rest against her cheek, his fingers almost tentative against her skin.

"You're so beautiful," he said, "So perfect."

"Have you been drinking?" asked Rose.

"Perhaps this would be easier if I had," said the Doctor, "Going to see Reinette the other day got me thinking about all the goodbyes you never got to make, one in particular. I can't give you a goodbye, not when it should have been but I can give you some closure and maybe myself some peace."

Rose gazed up at him quizzically, seeing the fear in his eyes as he spoke to her. She reached up a gloved hand to clasp the one that rested on her cheek, "Please tell me what's happening, you're frightening me."

"We're currently parked in space, by the site of where Gallifrey once was about three days after the explosion. Just ahead of us is a blue police box with someone inside who doesn't even know whether he's truly alive."

"Doctor…"

"You never got your goodbye Rose and even though I know you've accepted who I am now I know you still miss him. You gave me Reinette, let me close that part of my life. I want to do the same for you, I want you to go to him. I can't come with you because of the paradox it would create," said the Doctor, "Also, this is something you have to do alone."

"But you said…"

"What I said before doesn't matter," said the Doctor, "He needs you, he needs some light in his life. I can't remember that time but I can remember that something made me seek out my friend's aid, something made me leave the rocks and dust I'd reduced my home world to. Maybe that was you."

"But if I go to you…him now, wouldn't that create a paradox anyway? He'll meet the younger me not long after and surely he'll remember me."

"That's what this is for," said the Doctor, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a small cylinder, not larger than Rose's thumb, "Slip this into the console when you leave and it will erase all trace of you in that ship. I won't remember what happens but I will remember what I feel."

Rose took the tiny cylinder and slipped it into one of the pockets on her space suit. She looked back up at the Doctor, seeing the indecision in his face and she wondered how any man could be jealous of his own self but it was there before her. She wanted desperately to tell him that she wouldn't go, that he was to fly away and forget his offer but she couldn't. She closed her eyes for a second, seeing again the face he had worn before, his look so different to the man before her but still filling her soul with as much love as it could hold. She felt his fingers flex slightly against her cheek and opened her eyes, smiling reassuringly.

"Thank you," she murmured, "I know this must be hard for you."

"You need this," he said, "Just…"

"Just what Doctor?"

He shook his head, smiling mournfully to himself, "Its nothing."

"Tell me," said Rose, holding onto his hand as he made to pull it away. She squeaked in surprise as he pulled her into a crushing hug.

"Just promise me you'll come back to me," he said, his voice muffled at her shoulder but filled with emotion. Rose made to pull back but he held her fast as if letting her go would be the last thing he did.

"Darling," she said, hugging him back and nuzzling into his neck as best she could in her helmet, "I will always come back."

Her words seemed to satisfy him enough to pull away. Still holding her shoulders he pressed a kiss to her forehead, "Then I'll see you when you get back. The other TARDIS will look different to what you're used to but the route you need to go is the same. Head to the Cloister Room, I'll be in there but be warned, I was a mess."

"I understand," said Rose, getting to her feet but instead of heading for the doors she turned back to the centre of the TARDIS, "Just give me a second."

She ran up the stairs and along the corridor to their bedroom. Throwing open the wardrobe she rifled inside until her hand settled on what she needed, pulling it free she closed the door and returned at a more sedate pace to the control room. The Doctor looked up as he heard her boots on the grating and then frowned as he saw what she held in her hands. The frown soon turned to a grin however as he seemed to speak to himself.

"Well that could explain things."

"Explain what?" said Rose.

"I never knew where that jacket came from," said the Doctor stepping over to her and running his hand over the battered, black material, "I found it on the end of my bed the morning I decided to return to Earth to get help from my friend, I loved it instantly. Can't remember ever owning it before."

Rose gave a small smile, stilling his hand and holding it in her own gloved one, "So giving it to him won't cause any paradoxes then?"

"No, just make sure you insert the cylinder into the console when you leave otherwise things could get tricky. Now come on, you better go before I can't bring myself to part with you," he said, pressing a kiss to her lips before closing and sealing the visor of her helmet. He switched on the oxygen pack at her side and saw the visor mist slightly before clearing as it regulated. Rose clutched the jacket a little tighter to her and held out her hand for the TARDIS key the Doctor offered her. She let herself be tethered to the console, hoping she could tie off just as easily in the other TARDIS. Butterflies fluttered manically in her stomach and chest and she wanted to faint but the Doctor's hand on her back urged her onwards. He opened the TARDIS door and she saw the familiar shape staring back at her although bearing a few blast marks she knew would be cleared before her younger self met with the Doctor in the basement of Henricks.

Rose turned back to the man behind her, seeing the pensive expression he wore. She gave him her most winning smile and was pleased when he smiled back.

"I'm coming back," she said, "I love you Doctor."

"I love you too," he said, "Now go, he needs you."

Rose stepped off the threshold, having to adjust her balance and she hit the vacuum and careful not to loose her hold on the precious jacket she held. She managed the short distance to the other TARDIS, glad for the thorough if brief lessons Dana had been able to give her on space walks. She slotted the key into the door and the lock clicked free easily. The door swung inward and she stared in awe at the room before her. Gothic and majestic, the control room she knew was no where in sight, replaced by a much more Victorian and ornate room, the central hub less of a feature and more an oddity in the lounge room look of the space. She turned back to the other TARDIS, noticing the Doctor still in the doorway. He motioned her onwards and she stepped inside, glad to feel the gravity at her feet again. She hurried to the console and freed the cord that attached her to her home. She tied it securely and glanced back one more time. The Doctor had gone from the doorway but she did not blame him. She couldn't expect him to wait, pondering what would pass between his former incarnation and her.

Rose lay the leather jacket reverently on the console before peeling herself out of her space suit, grateful she had kept her jeans and t shirt on beneath, pausing only to slip the small cylinder into her jeans pocket. She caught herself fussing with her hair and stopped, she couldn't worry about appearances, that would mean she wanted him to find her beautiful and despite everything she wanted, seduction was not what her journey was for. She followed the Doctor's instructions and hurried to the Cloister Room, unnerved by the artificial candle light rather than the more streamlined lighting she knew back home. She smiled to herself as she thought of one TARDIS being home and the other not despite them being the same entity. She lay her hand on the wall and frowned as she felt the vibrations weaker than she was used to, a great sadness filling her veins and causing her to pull back quickly.

The Cloister Room door was ajar and she peered round into the gloom, only one or two lit beacons casting light in the cavernous space. Her eyes were drawn to the central altar and the figure that sat there, staring away from the door and up at the cavernous ceiling. Her breath stilled in her chest at the sight of him. The once closely cropped hair she had known was longer and unkempt, three days worth of stubble gracing his angled features. His clothes were ornate but ragged, bearing burn marks and various tares, the handsome velvet jacket he wore completely contrary to the modern attire she would come to know him in. Even from her place by the door she could see the tear tracks on his cheeks, droplets flowing unchecked as he seemed to far introverted to notice them. Her heart broke at the sight. She had thought him broken when he had finally confessed his pain after their encounter with the Dalek but this was beyond even that grief, so raw, so fresh; she wandered how he had ever recovered.

She paused, wandering how best to introduce herself and not wanting to frighten him by appearing on his ship out of no where. When no thought came to her she decided being direct was the best policy. She stepped over the threshold and took several steps towards the altar.

"Doctor?" she said tentatively.

He didn't respond, continuing to stare into the darkness of the room.

"Doctor," she said, a little louder this time. She jumped as he whirled round to face her, his blue eyes empty and haunted. He jumped to his feet, grabbing for the weapon at his side and holding it up to her.

"Who are you?" he said, his tone commanding despite his appearance, "How did you get on my ship?"

Rose held her hands up in appeasement, terrified that her life would be ended by the very man who began it, "My name's Rose," she said simply, "and I'm a friend."

"I don't know anyone called Rose," was the reply, the deep northern tones she knew to be so warm only chilling her bones and causing her to think of the Idralas' manifestations.

"You don't yet," she said, "But we know each other in the future, I've come back to help you now. I know what's happened to you, you've told me everything and I had to come back to you."

The Doctor seemed to lower the gun slightly but kept his eye trained on her, "I'd never allow that, the paradox that it could cause."

"You've thought of that too," said Rose, reaching into her pocket, surprised at her own calm. She held out the small cylinder and he reached forward tentatively, snatching it from her hand. He held it up to his eyes, examining the detail and frowning.

"Its something to make you forget," said Rose, "A bit too complicated for my ape brain."

"You're human then?" he said, still peering at the device, "Figures and this is definitely mine but I don't need any company Rose, friend or not, you can go."

He returned to his sitting place, staring back out at the room around him. Rose followed, determined that he wouldn't push her away. She took the cylinder from his hand and returned it to her pocket. She sat beside him, staring at the wall he was focused on. He didn't speak, clearly not bothered whether she was there or not and the atmosphere both comforted and disturbed her. She had expected a scene but he was eerily calm, so detached that a stranger in the TARDIS didn't seem to bother him at all. She wondered at the pain he must be going through when he cared nothing for the world around him.

They sat in silence for the longest time, neither moving or speaking. Rose tilted her head to look at him slightly, feeling her heart flutter again as she took in his features. She wanted him to smile that wonderful manic grin of his but his mouth was set in a hard thing line, his brow creased and his face marred by tear tracks. One knee was drawn up and his hand rested limply against it. Rose tentatively reached up her own hand, hovering it briefly over his to see if he'd react. He didn't even glance down. She frowned but continued, tracing one finger over the back of his hand before smoothing down her palm onto it. When he didn't resist she flexed her fingers and closed them around his own. She looked up to find him staring at her an expression on his face that wavered on terrifying. Rose went to pull her hand away, frightened that he would turn the temper she had so often seen in him on her.

His fingers held onto hers, not allowing her to pull back and she stayed without protest. His features softened somewhat and he reached up a tentative hand to brush back a few loose strands of her hair behind her ear. Rose stifled the gasp that wanted to escape her at his gentle touch. He traced her features with his fingers, as if confirming the reality of her presence. Rose wondered at the difference in him, the Doctor had always been tactile but he was never so open. She saw the wonder on his face as he traced her lips with his thumb and she didn't pull away.

"Why are you here?" he asked.

"We stumbled across…this place by accident in our travels and realised you'd be near by," said Rose, putting the history as simply as possible, "I wanted to come to you. I knew what pain you'd be in and I had to help you."

"You say we're friends." he said, "Are we close?"

Rose smiled at their entwined fingers, wandering how much to tell him of their future relationship, "You're my best friend," she said softly, "And I'm yours, we're as close as we could possibly be."

The Doctor nodded, coming to a decision inside his own head, "I must have lied to you. I can't believe someone like you could be friends with someone like me, after…"

Rose released her hand from his, not bothering to think how he'd react and put her arms about his shoulders, tugging him to her. He resisted but she was insistent and he relented, clearly not with it enough to fight her. Rose had often heard tales of shell shocked soldiers from the First World War, how anything could happen around them and they wouldn't react. She knew she was seeing something similar now. Where she had expected her passionate Doctor she had found a soul so desperately lost and it broke her heart. Without thinking she pulled his head to her shoulder and pressed a kiss to his hair, surprised at the feel of its length against her lips.

"Even after this," she murmured to him, "Even after you tell me what happened I am still your friend. You have know idea what you're going to do for me. I love you so much Doctor."

Rose had to pause as she choked on a sob, wandering how many times she had wanted to say those words to the man in her arms and now when she managed it he would forget it when she left him. She didn't check her tears as they began to flow down her face and into his hair. She felt his arms go about her waist, holding her tightly as he turned his face into her neck, a gesture so similar to how she remembered him. The one little gesture that always showed her when he was vulnerable. He had done it after their encounter with the Dalek, told her, cried with her and let her hold him, turning into her warmth and scent for comfort.

"I'm here," she said through her tears as she rocked him, "I'm here Doctor and I'm not going to leave you. I'm going to take care of you."

"You said you love me," he said, his lips brushing her skin as he spoke, "Are we lovers?"

Rose smiled against him, "Yes," she said, "Yes we are. We're in love, we have been for a long time, probably why the other you will be at home dying of jealousy."

Her smile brightened as she heard the soft huff of laughter against her neck. She tightened her arms, content with where they were and knowing that her plans for their meeting had flown from the window completely. She felt him shift his weight, changing their positions so that she was cradled against his chest. She felt the soft double heart beat beneath her cheek through the velvet of his jacket. His fingers came up into her hair and she came undone.

"I'm sorry," he whispered to her, "You shouldn't see me like this. I can't even understand love, how anyone can love me. How can I love you Rose?"

She looked up at him, "You don't, not yet," she said, finding the look in his eyes that she had always loved, the sharp intelligence softened whenever they were close as now, "But we grow, you get better. You're so different now to what I will know you to be. You grow harder, less loving at first but then you realise how much you're worth and there's not one part of you not in love with the universe."

"You make me sound like a trashy novel," said the Doctor, a semblance of the smile she had loved gracing his features. She couldn't help but smile back, the whole world vanishing around her as she lost herself in his crystal blue eyes. She tilted her face up to his further and he took the hint, taking as much comfort from her kiss and she did from his. When the Idralas had kissed her in this form it had felt wrong but now she couldn't begin to even tell the difference between the man she held in her arms and the one waiting for her. She could feel the physical differences, thinner lips to what she was used to, his stubble scratching her chin but the emotion was there, raw and uncharted in this form rather than sure and certain.

Rose pulled back from him gently, seeing the tear tracks anew on his cheeks and pushing them away, "Come with me," she said, her voice still laced with emotion. She took his hand and tugged him to his feet. He came with little resistance, so trusting where she would know him to be so suspicious. She was glad she would not be there for the day the reality of his situation would hit him, when he would harden against the world. She led him down the winding corridors, feeling the hum of the TARDIS renew as he did. She felt him pause in question as she stopped outside his bedroom door.

"Rose…"

"I'm not taking you to bed," she said softly, turning to him and laying a hand on his chest, "I can't do that to the you I've left behind and you're not ready. Besides, our first time should be that and not become your second, whether you remember it or not."

"Then why are we here?" he asked, something akin to his cheeky façade passing over him.

"You're going to get some well earned rest," she said, "And I'm going to sit with you while you do and chase away those dreams of yours."

"How do you…"

"Who do you think spent all their nights soothing you through them?"

"A girl of barely twenty chasing away my nightmares?"

"I'm twenty-one," said Rose, "And I chase away yours because you do the same for mine. Now come on, you need to rest. You're exhausted."

He didn't protest as she led him into the dimly lit room, more ornate than she remembered it ever being. She stilled him as he made to lay down on the bed fully clothed, keeping him standing and steadying her own hands as she began to unbutton his velvet jacket, slipping it off his shoulders and letting it pool at his feet. She glanced up at his face, finding it deadly serious. She continued her work, unbuttoning his shirt and letting it join the jacket on the floor. She couldn't help but drag her fingers across his bare chest, the only other time she had seen this body being when she had helped him from Van Statten's torture.

"God you're beautiful," she said wrapping her arms around his waist and burying her face in his shoulder. She was too engrossed in the scent of him that she barely noticed him lifting her top up out of her jeans and she shuddered with surprise as cool fingers settled against the skin of her back.

"Rose."

"Tyler," she said, "Rose Tyler, call me Rose Tyler."

She felt his lips on her neck as he smiled against her, "Rose Tyler," he murmured, the deep resonance of his accent shooting tingles straight through her, "We need to stop this, you have to go home."

Rose pulled back and smiled up at him, seeing the gentle look on his face but the pleading also, perhaps there were some pains that could not be shared, especially when they were so fresh.

"I know," she said, "But not until you're sleeping." She released him and he got into the bed, not protesting as she settled the covers around him. Rose watched him in silence, surprised by how easily he succumbed to sleep. She stayed for several hours, chasing away his nightmares as she promised but she soon found she could not stay any longer. Bending down, she pressed a kiss to his forehead.

"Goodbye, my Doctor," she whispered.

Getting to her feet she left the room without a glance behind, the reality of the situation hitting her as she reached the control room. She slumped down against the console and cried as silently as she could into her hands. Seeing him so broken, so easily led struck pain into her very soul but he was still as beautiful as she remembered. And alive, she had to remind herself, alive and waiting for her in their home. She picked up her discarded space suit and hurried back into it. She had just reached for her helmet when she saw the discarded leather jacket still resting on the console. She smiled, picking it up in her gloved hands and holding it tightly to her. She turned back into the centre of the TARDIS and silently opened his bedroom door, glad to see him still in the midst of his slumber. She lay the jacket on the end of the bed, arranging it as neatly as possible. Unable to resist she came to his side once more and bent over him.

"I will never stop loving you," she said, "And things will get better darling, I promise."

He stirred and she hurried from the room, knowing if he woke now she would never bring herself to leave. She reached the control room and approached the console, picking up the tiny cylinder she had retrieved from her jeans pocket before clambering into her space suit. She looked around for a suitable port and a light flashed next to one the perfect size. She glanced around the ornate room and smiled.

"You just take good care of him you hear?"

She heard the beep of affirmative and inserted the small cylinder into the console. The TARDIS gave a flurry of gentle beeps and then the room grew silent once more. Rose pulled on her helmet and reattached herself to the cord. She took one last look at the gothic room before peering over the threshold into the TARDIS she knew and loved. Stepping out into the vacuum once more the weightlessness felt like a long awaited release and she floated absently for a few moments before pulling the doors she had just exited closed behind her. She crossed to her own TARDIS, the familiar beeps and vibrations greeting her but the person she expected to be waiting was absent. She closed the door and detached herself, peeling off her space suit and dumping it on the captain's chair. She noticed the note taped to the monitor and instantly recognised the handwriting.

Hope you're ok. I couldn't stay around, sorry. I don't know how you're feeling right now but if you need me I'll be in the library. If you want to be on your own I can sleep in my room tonight, just get through what you need to get through. I love you Rose Tyler.

Rose pulled the note off the monitor and folded it, placing it neatly inside her jeans pocket. She turned her feet to the centre of the TARDIS and headed down the long corridors. She paused at their bedroom door before going inside. She changed into her nightdress and looked down at the bed before her. She reached down and lifted up the pillow, taking out what was concealed there. She pulled on her dressing gown and slipped the tiny box she held into her pocket. She wandered into the bathroom before scrubbing off her make up and pinning up her hair. She regarded her reflection in the mirror and smiled.

She broke into a run as she left the room, hurrying down the corridor to the library. She threw open the door, emotion upon emotion hitting her as the heady scent of the fire burning in the hearth came to her. The Doctor sprang up from his position on the sofa, looking completely surprised to see her. Rose bit her lip in amusement as he was clearly looking for the right words to say to her. She didn't give him a chance, running across the floor and vaulting over the sofa into his arms. The impact sent him spinning and by the time he set her back on her feet they were both seeing stars. She pulled him down to her and claimed his mouth with a searing kiss, tasting both old and new on his tongue and knowing that she was happier with the complete person before her than she could ever be with anyone else.

When she released him he looked adorably ruffled and shocked and she couldn't help but giggle at him before swallowing her laughter and giving him a gentle smile, "Thank you," she whispered, "For everything."

"You came home," he said incredulously.

"Of course I did you idiot," she said, "I love you and I couldn't stay, you still had to become the man I love but I think I helped."

"I know you did," said the Doctor holding her close, "Just wish I remembered."

"I remember enough for the both of us," said Rose, taming his fly away hair, "You're so beautiful. Doctor?"

"Mmm," he said, more interested in cuddling her than her words.

"I've had time to think though and there's something I have to ask you," said Rose biting her lip in agitation, "And it's a bit unorthodox."

"That's pretty much us all over," he said, pulling back from her, "Come on then, you've got me intrigued."

Rose hand went to her pocket and she tugged out an elegant red velvet box. She opened it, revealing the plain silver band inside, thicker than a women's band. The Doctor looked down at the ring and then up to her in surprise. Rose didn't hesitate and the Doctor almost choked as she went down on bended knee before him.

"I know its domestic," she said, "And I know I shouldn't be the one asking but I love you so much Doctor and I want you to marry me."

The Doctor's expression was somewhere between laughter and tears but in the end he gave over to laughter. Rose drooped as he threw his head back in his mirth, wanting to cry as he laughed at her. She dropped her head to her chest and sniffed but quieted as she heard him do so and kneel in front of her.

"Rose," he said, "Rose look at me darling."

"No!" she said, the tears coming freely now. She heard the ruffle of material and then the click of a latch.

"Baby," he said gently, "I'm not laughing at you."

"Pretty good impression of it then," she said. She felt his fingers on her chin, lifting her face to his.

"I'm laughing about how much we think alike," he said, casting his eyes downwards. Rose followed suit and looked down at his open hand, seeing the elegant solitaire diamond ring, nestled amongst the folds of velvet.

"Oh God," she said, "You mean you…"

"You stole my moment Rose Tyler," he said, "I was gonna do the one knee thing and everything."

"Sorry," she muttered, "But does this mean…"

"Yes," said the Doctor taking the ring from its box and slipping it on her finger, "With all my heart yes."

Rose stared down as the ring glittered on her finger before taking the simple silver band from its case. She held his hand in hers, not knowing where his trembles began and hers ended. She slid the ring home, amazed at the fit.

"My Doctor," she said softly. He answered her with a kiss.

XXXX

Rose stirred, snuggling deeper into the warmth of the pillows before opening her eyes. The night was still dark but she could make out the room around her. She giggled softly as she noticed her nightdress hanging precariously from the light fitting above her but chose not to pull it down. She looked down at the man sleeping soundly beside her and smiled. A movement to his right caught her attention and she looked up. She watched the thin blue light take shape and smiled up at the woman who stood beside the bed. Rose raised her hand and wiggled her ring finger in demonstration. The woman before her clapped silently before glancing down at the sleeping Doctor. She bent down over him, stroking back his flyaway hair before pressing a kiss to his forehead. She smiled warmly and then was gone in a flicker of light and smoke.

Rose shifted position, curling herself into the Doctor's arms, feeling his instinctively come about her. The coolness of his ring leaving a trail of pleasant fire over her skin. She watched his sleeping face for a few moments before shutting her eyes, another face immediately coming to view, smiling blue eyes and ridiculous ears before sleep claimed her. And as the TARDIS rested in deep space that night, surrounded by the dust of her home world something amazing began to happen outside. Delicate shards of midnight blue dust began to dance together, fusing and burning. The birth of something new and the return of something old, something that would be perfect or so she hoped.


End file.
